Mari Kiviniemi (centre), Finland's prime minister, made a statement on the Finnish Broadcasting Company's (YLE) Ykkösaamu programme on Saturday rejecting Tarja Halonen's, Finland's president, speculation over the selection of the prime minister.

According to Kiviniemi, the selection process went according to the constitution.

In her speech on Friday, President Halonen commented that roles of the parliament and the parliamentary floor groups were mere formalities in the selection process. According to her, the governmental parties delegated the decision to the Centre's party conference.

Timo Kalli, leader of the Centre's parliamentary group, already expressed his surprise about the president's words on Friday. On the webpage of the national daily Helsingin Sanomat, he questioned whether this speech was a protest against the current constitution.

STT