Government satisfied with performance so far
PM Vanhanen argues employment targets still not lost
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The coalition governmnt of Centre Party, Social Democrats, and Swedish People’s Party is approaching the half-way stage of the four-year Parliamentary election cycle, and the government met on Tuesday for the first of its political assessment sessions at the Prime Minister’s official residence of Kesäranta, in Helsinki.
These sessions are something of a Finnish first within the government of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen: previous administrations have not gathered to discuss how well or how badly they are doing with respect to the programme set out at the beginning of their term.
Vanhanen and the leading Social Democrat in the cabinet, Finance Minister Antti Kalliomäki, both believe the government has succeeded particularly well in its economic policies: the labour market organisations have been assisted towards delivering up a record-long collective bargaining settlement, and taxes have been brought down so as to boost consumer purchasing power in spite of the sluggish European economy.
Neither Vanhanen, Kalliomäki, nor the Environment Minister Jan-Erik Enestam (the leading Swedish People’s Party representative) acknowledged even being concerned that the government would not make its employment targets, which look to the outsider to be impossible to implement.
Vanhanen claimed that the current projections are for an increase in employment of 30,000-60,000 during the electoral term, and there is still time left. The target of 100,000 new jobs by 2007 nevertheless beckons.
But the parties believe that even if the bell rings before this number is reached, the most important thing is to be on a growth curve. The ministers all blamed the international slump for the failure to remain on track with new jobs.
This Tuesday’s session of all the members of the government concentrated - in addition to employment and economic outlook - mainly on state and municipal funding, and on the responsibility of municipalities to provide basic services.
In a week’s time the ministers will all congregate again to examine how well or how badly the government has fared in regional policy and in support for businesses.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.2.2005 - TODAY |
 Government satisfied with performance so far |
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