Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (PS) talked about the government’s budget draft for 2024 at a news conference in Helsinki on Tuesday, 19 September 2023. Purra on Wednesday told YLE that she personally has no need to hide the fact that the government is looking to make significant cuts in social security for the sake of the economy. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE TAX BURDEN of Finnish wage earners will decline across income brackets under the budget proposal presented by the government on Tuesday.

The government announced it has decided to lower income taxation to the tune of 100 million euros with a particular emphasis on low and middle-income earners. The tax burden of high-income earners, in turn, will decrease due to the decision to continue levying the solidarity tax at a reduced rate.

Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) arrived for the government’s budget session at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Helsinki on 19 September 2023. Grahn-Laasonen on Wednesday conceded that the cuts in parental allowance and family leave compensation would have harmed the labour-market position of women. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has backtracked on two spending cuts forwarded in its action plan, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

The government decided in its newly concluded budget session that it will call off the cuts in the parental allowance and family leave compensation disbursed to employers, reveal minutes of the session seen by the daily newspaper.

Minister of Finance Riikka Purra and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo prepared to present the conclusions of the newly concluded budget session in Helsinki on Tuesday, 19 September 2023. The government will borrow 1.4 billion euros more than expected to finance its almost 88-billion-euro budget for next year. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

FINLAND will borrow 11.5 billion euros to finance its budget of 87.9 billion euros for 2024, according to Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (PS).

The Ministry of Finance estimated as recently as last month that the budget would have a deficit of 10.1 billion euros, but it has since had to revise down its estimate of tax revenue by 1.4 billion euros.

A person set to fill in a card supporting the establishment of a constituency association for the presidential bid of Pekka Haavisto (Greens) in Helsinki on 14 August 2023. Haavisto holds a clear advantage over all the other candidates in the race as far as the first round of voting is concerned, reveals a new poll by YLE. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH presidential election is shaping out to be a closely fought affair, suggests an opinion poll commissioned by YLE.

Pekka Haavisto (Greens) emerged as a clear public favourite in the poll section representing the first round of voting, winning 31 per cent of the vote – 12 percentage points more than the runner-up, Alexander Stubb (NCP).

Olli Rehn's campaign office at City Passage in Helsinki

More than 20,000 Finnish citizens have endorsed a supporter card to nominate Dr. Olli Rehn, the Governor of the Bank of Finland, as a presidential candidate through an electoral association. Establishing an electoral association for the presidential elections requires the endorsement of at least 20,000 eligible voters. Rehn's campaign officially commenced on Friday with an open public event at Sofia Helsinki.

Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democrats, smiled stepping into the meeting room of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group in the Parliament House on Tuesday, 12 September 2023. The Social Democrats holds a lead of 0.6 percentage points over the National Coalition and 3.2 points over the Finns Party, according to the latest opinion poll by Helsingin Sanomat. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY has consolidated its lead in opinion polls despite only seeing a bump of 0.1 percentage points in popular support in the past month, reveals the latest poll by Helsingin Sanomat.

Support for the opposition party stands consequently at 21.6 per cent, 0.6 points higher than support for the National Coalition and 3.2 points higher than the Finns Party.

Ex-Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) spoke to reporters outside the meeting room of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group in the Parliament House in Helsinki on Tuesday, 12 September 2023. “I’m faced with a new start, and a new door has opened,” she commented on her appointment as a strategic advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

FORMER PRIME MINISTER Sanna Marin (SDP) has been released from her obligations as a Member of Parliament.

The Speaker’s Council on Friday announced it is in favour of granting her request to be released of her duties, despite some criticism from Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (PS). The request was granted yesterday without a vote because no one submitted a counter-proposal to the Speaker’s Council.

Chairpersons Antti Lindtman of the Social Democrats and Annika Saarikko of the Centre Party exchanged views during a plenary session in the Parliament House on Tuesday, 5 September 2023. Lindtman on 1 September took over what remains the most popular political party in the country, despite a surge in support for the National Coalition. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS and National Coalition are all but neck and neck at the top of the latest opinion poll by YLE.

While the Social Democrats saw its popularity fall by 1.4 percentage points from the previous poll to 21.4 per cent, the National Coalition recorded gains of 1.4 points to 21.2 per cent, closing the gap between the two parties from three to 0.2 points.

Ex-Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) on Thursday, 7 September 2023, announced she has been asked to be relieved of her parliamentary duties in order to become a strategic advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Marin argued that her stepping down and taking up the position would improve her ability to serve voters in Finland. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

EX-PRIME MINISTER Sanna Marin (SDP) on Thursday announced she has asked to be relieved of her duties as Member of Finnish Parliament to join the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Marin received 36,628 votes in the parliamentary elections held in April, becoming the second highest vote getter after Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the Finns Party. She said yesterday she is tremendously grateful to her voters but viewed that she will be better able to serve them in her role as strategic advisor at the institute than in the parliament.

Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (PS) and Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson (SFP) listened as Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) presented the government statement on promoting equality and non-discrimination to Members of Parliament on Wednesday. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

MEMBERS of Parliament on Wednesday got the opportunity to discuss the equality and non-discrimination statement the government drafted in response to revelations about the past online comments of Minister of Finance Riikka Purra and Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman.

While the government is unlikely to collapse over the statement, the debate served as a vivid reminder of how the differently issue is understood within the Finns Party.