Green MPs accuse Speaker of Parliament of misusing his position

Paavo Lipponen's speech in Warsaw seen to echo pro-nuclear lobby groups arguments

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The Parliamentary group of the Green League and the Speaker of Parliament Paavo Lipponen (SDP) have clashed over nuclear energy.
      At a press conference on Monday, Green Parliamentary group chair Heidi Hautala accused Lipponen of abusing his position as Speaker of Parliament to promote the interests of the nuclear power industry.
      Lipponen dismissed the claims, suggesting that the move shows that the Greens lack the stamina for real energy policy debate.
     
The Greens’ accusation is based on a presentation held by Lipponen in Warsaw in mid-January, in which he proposed raising the target for the share of nuclear power in the basic energy mix in Europe to 20 per cent.
      The figure is in line with the goals set by Foratom, an organisation promoting the interests of the European nuclear energy industry. The Greens noticed that there were a number of nearly verbatim passages from Foratom statements in Lipponen’s speech.
      The Greens were helped in the analysis of Lipponen’s speech by the Dutch CEO organisation, which monitors efforts by various financial interests to lobby politicians.
     
Hautala emphasised that Lipponen held his speech in the Polish Parliament in his capacity as the head of the delegation of the Finnish Parliament on its visit to the Polish Parliament. She added that Lipponen has previously spoken on behalf of nuclear power, using his position as Speaker of the Finnish Parliament.
      "This is a question of misusing his position", Hautala said. "It is the view of the Green Parliamentary group that a speaker should not act in such a way."
     
Hautala also took up the issue of political party financing, saying that relations between organisations promoting economic interests and political parties should be transparent.
      "Transparency International has pointed out that party financing in Finland cannot bear the light of day", Hautala said, and added, "I am not putting forward any speculation."
      Lipponen said that he is surprised that Hautala "has started to engage in energy policy debate as if some kind of a court case should be organised".
     
"I think that she feels that she is on a weak footing in this debate, since she is disputing the right of the speaker to discuss energy policy internationally", Lipponen said in a short press conference that he convened.
      Lipponen said that the Greens seem to sense that they have been pushed to the sidelines in the energy debate.
      He sidestepped the accusation that he had copied parts of his speech, saying that he had given the speech in his own name and used previous speeches as his source material.
      He added that opposition to nuclear energy is "the mother of all things green", adding that the Greens "would sell their own mother to get into the next government".
      "Is it these tracks that they are trying to cover up?"
      There was no comment on the Greens’ hints about SDP funding, because Lipponen would only take one question from the journalists.


Links:
  Foratom website
  Transparency International website

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