Election chiefs list themes for upcoming Parliamentary election

Employment, well-being, climate and energy, and ageing among issues

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Employment, well-being, climate and energy, and ageing. These were some of the issues listed by the election chiefs of the Parliamentary parties, when asked about the themes of the upcoming Parliamentary election.
     
As far as the methods of campaigning for the March election, today's buzzword is interactivity. The parties aim to "interact" with voters through their websites.
      "One should enjoy one's visit even to an election website", the Social Democratic Party (SDP) election chief Vesa Mauriala comments.
      For example, a playful test on the Christian Democrats' website reveals whether one is a sobersided moralist type or not.
      On the Swedish People's Party (RKP) website, on the other hand, one can follow the candidates' election debates at various locations in Finland.
     
In their campaigning efforts the government parties - the Centre Party, the SDP, and the RKP - can boast about the sitting government's achievements: the improved employment situation and the lowered taxes on the wage-earners.
      In addition to employment, the SDP also brings other working life matters plus services and climate change to the discussion table - as do most other parties.
      The Centre Party also lists the increase of the national pension high on their agenda. According to the party secretary Jarmo Korhonen, the National Coalition and the SDP have not said a word about improving the minimum benefits.
     
The largest opposition party, the moderate conservative National Coalition, has not stated whether it challenges the SDP or the Centre Party in the upcoming election. "We challenge the government. If one desires change, one should vote for us", the National Coalition Party secretary Taru Tujunen notes.
      The Left Alliance plans to challenge the government in employment matters. According to the party, the taxation policy has favoured the rich, while the employment situation has not improved as much as the economic growth would have allowed. The poor have been forgotten.
      The Christian Democrats, the self-confessed sobersides, in turn, want this election to be about the elderly, families, and the students in particular.
      The Green League have added bio energy to their weapons arsenal against the sitting government.
      "The government has had four years to do something. Now, right before the election, they have woken up to talk about nuclear energy and the climate. Are they fishing for spare points?" election chief Iiris Kivimäki asks.
     
The right wing populist True Finns, in turn, call for a more critical approach to the European Union and immigration matters.
      "One can only hope this will not be a repeat of the 2003 election", the True Finns election chief Jussi Niinistö says.
      Four years ago the election was supposed to be all about prices, well-being, and lowered taxation. Instead, it became a contentious Iraq-debate between the two prime ministerial candidates, Anneli Jäätteenmäki (Centre) and Paavo Lipponen (SDP).


Links:
  Few HS readers interested in candidates´ views of foreign policy (4.1.2007)

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