COMMENTARY: Of olms and others who are quick to anger
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By Hanna Kaarto
During the weekend, we were treated to a curious political Internet drama concerning olms, Eero Heinäluoma, and the overall relationship between the Centre Party and the SDP.
Social Democratic MP Susanna Rahkonen was writing in her blog while watching television, and mentioned that Mikko Alkio, a candidate for the post of Party Secretary of the Centre Party "looks like an olm".
As those who follow politics know by now, an olm is a blind amphibian with a tail. Rahkonen's ill-considered remark got a sharp response from Alkio on Saturday, and the party's vice chair Sirkka-Liisa Anttila was also inspired to chastise Rahkonen.
On Sunday Rahkonen returned to the topic. She noted that she had already apologised to Alkio, and said that it was not her intention to be hurtful. She herself had taken offence at Alkio's comment, in which he asked where these "Eero's Angels" get their orders from.
Rahkonen, who had supported Erkki Tuomioja as SDP chairman, was naturally angered at the suggestion that [SDP chairman] Eero Heinäluoma would be working behind the scenes of Rahkonen's blog entries. Undoubtedly, it was a rather paranoid notion.
It is strange, if politicians do not understand that their comments, written on the Internet in their own names, are seen to carry as much weight as press releases sent by mail, for instance. It is not unreasonable to expect consideration from politicians.
The weblog of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has also contained surprisingly impulsive texts. Just over a week ago Vanhanen wrote in his blog that his privacy had been violated by Ilta-Sanomat, which had written about the content of his SMS messages.
It appears that he simply did not know the meaning of communications privacy, and what protection a politician of his stature enjoys. It is not the same as for just any resident of Nurmijärvi.
Even stranger was that the threat to possibly sue IS did not come until Sunday. He had already been in touch with Ilta-Sanomat on Saturday to denounce the story. According to the newspaper's editor-in-chief Anti-Pekka Pietilä, he did not speak of any possible court case at that time.
So his way of thinking changed overnight, or then the gossip circulating about Vanhanen's diary might be true: it is claimed that it is at least partially written by his special aide.
The election book about Vanhanen that was written by special aide Timo Laaninen contains material on mail privacy in exactly the same style as what was seen in the blog on Sunday.
Aides write politicians' speeches, and books as well, so why not entries in a weblog?
During the presidential campaign similar thoughts were reportedly circulating among supporters of Sauli Niinistö. The thinking is that not every blog entry was from the pen of the "workers' president" himself.
The danger with a diary written by an aide is that the aide might write something awkward in one way or another. If politicians are expected to show consideration, the same is expected of aides working in the politician's name.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 3.4.2006
More on this subject:
 About 10 percent of Finnish Parliamentarians maintain blogs
Stories and opinions
See also:
COMMENTARY: Getting ideas above their station (9.4.2006)
HANNA KAARTO / Helsingin Sanomat
hanna.kaarto@hs.fi
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