Confidence is what we need
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By Antti Blåfield
Finland is a grim and violent country, it is said. And then it gets repeated. There is no reason for a national sense of inferiority. Finns have demonstrated their survival skills.
The ability to adapt to changing conditions has been demonstrated, as well as the ability to defend their own freedom and that of others, and to grasp opportunities.
Just 150 years ago a large portion of the population died of hunger, and now we complain when we drop down to sixth place in the world competitiveness index.
The concern is not that our darkest selves would again emerge from the depths, but rather that people feel that they are forcibly torn from their roots and their values, which have been a morally sustaining force. The principle of moderation is embedded deep inside the Finnish mind.
Where is that moderation now?
When attempts are made to describe the present anguish, the presidency of Urho Kekkonen from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s has been evoked as a time of happiness.
It was also a time of adaptation, when the production machinery was geared up to serve the needs of the Soviet Union. It was also a time of growth: hopes were fulfilled, possibilities opened up.
The collapse of the Soviet Union also brought Finland closer to its real size in international trade.
the massive recession of the early 1990s was a barrier behind which the time of happiness has been kept safe. It is also the starting pont for adaptation to globalisation by Finland and its people.
During the Kekkonen era we became accustomed to a politics of a single truth, and we are still carried along a one-truth path.
The difference is that being led on a leash used to bring rewards, but now we are being led on a path to uncertainty.
It is not that leading politicians, civil servants, or corporate managers would do this out of sheer malice. From their own watchtowers, each of them can see menacing clouds growing on the horizon, and that is why it is wise to be prepared, to adapt, and to yield.
In the everyday lives of people it can be seen in the form of violent acts when jobs are eliminated, when day care centres and schools are closed, when social and health care services are adapted, when the state administration is rationalised according to the principles of business.
It is much less common today to hear the word "responsibility" in the civil service, and much more common to hear the word "productivity". And this message of yielding and productivity appears to be preached by those whose own benefits appear to be getting better all the time.
These conflicts and these sources of anguish in everyday life are part of the quiet gloom that circulates in the mind, that we would have reason to shun.
The mass killing in Jokela again showed the power and significance of the Church. People went to the churches to seek comfort and to share experiences.
The significance of the Church is worth keeping in mind when complaining about the right of the Church to levy the church tax.
A week ago, Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board of Nokia, Shell, and the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA, spoke in the church of Ylistaro, the home community of his mother. The key theme of his speech was trust.
"When mutual trust crumbles, we often come to a dead end. In such situations, leadership takes on a key role. Leadership ultimately involves the building of trust between people."
The sorrow and shock experienced this past week raise the question of what people can trust. The experiences of the week offer an opportunity and a possibility to deal with trust, and the lack of it.
Can the leaders see what things look like on the level of everyday life?
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 11.11.2007
ANTTI BLÅFIELD / Helsingin Sanomat
antti.blafield@hs.fi
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| 13.11.2007 - THIS WEEK |
 Confidence is what we need |
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