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.
Marin left the session hall immediately after the decision, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Juha Mäenpää (PS) made the only statement of the plenary session, drawing attention to the mandate representatives have received from the general public. A representative leaving soon after the elections, he argued, is unfair not only to voters but also to other candidates in the electoral district.
“The position of a representative isn’t your ordinary job, but one of the highest elected positions in Finland,” he reminded, expressing his support for clearer rules on resignations.
Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday wrote that typically the resignation requests of representatives are rubber stamped without any discussion, citing a spokesperson at parliament.
The Finnish constitution states that a representative can be released from their obligations only on grounds of an acceptable reason. Marin announced last week that she has asked to be released from her obligations due to her appointment as a strategic advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), a political consultancy based in London, the UK.
Named after ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, TBI has revealed Marin will be tasked with advising political leaders in different countries on reforms.
Halla-aho on Friday stated that Marin should have discussed the issue first with the speakers: “It would’ve made making the decision easier. Now we had to read details from the media.”
“One problem is that the idea of a ‘societally significant position’ has become more liberal in recent years. The rules should be the same for everyone,” he said to YLE. “Now we made the decision based on the established practice from previous electoral terms. Our impression is that even though the interpretations vary, every case has to be considered separately.”
Marin herself said yesterday she believes the process went “fairly appropriately”.
“I’m faced with a new start and a new door has opened,” she was quoted saying to reporters outside the meeting room of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group by YLE.
Marin was the second highest vote-getter in the parliamentary elections held in Finland in April, receiving 36,628 votes in the electoral district of Pirkanmaa. She will be replaced by Lotta Hamari (SDP), who won 2,675 votes in the district.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
