Justice Ministry working party wants to restrict presidential powers

A working party led by Minister of Justice Tuija Brax(Green League) has found several items from the Finnish Constitution that are linked with the present powers of the President and should be looked into by a drafting body on the Constitution that is to be set up in the course of the autumn.
      All proposed constitutional amendments call for reductions or restrictions in the powers of the President.
     
Among the items to be reconsidered is for example the President’s power to appoint permanent secretaries, which should be transferred to the government. Moreover, the President’s status in decisions on foreign policy, his or her position as the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, and the President's legislative powers are all items to be given further consideration, the working party says.
     
If the present presidential powers are to be reduced significantly, even the selection procedure of the President of the Republic ought to be re-examined. Should the President be elected by direct popular vote even in the future?
      Another move to be considered is the so-called people’s initiative, whereby an issue could be brought to Parliament through an initiative upon a petition of a certain number of citizens.
     
The task of the working group led by Minister Brax was to look into the calls for amendments in the present constitutional document.
      The proposals for further changes to the present powers of the President will be made by the parliamentary body on the Constitution, and the potential amendments would enter into force in 2012 at the earliest, or in other words they would affect only subsequent holders of the office.
      All parliamentary parties were involved in Brax’s working group, including the True Finns and the Left Alliance, both of which have voiced some reservations about altering presidential powers.
     
The Justice Ministry working group does not call for an extensive reform in the President’s power to make the final decision on appointments, but says that the power to appoint permanent secretaries could be transferred to the government.
      At the same time, it could be necessary to examine the status of political State Secretaries. However, the President would appoint for example the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the President, the Chancellor of Justice, and other permanently appointed members of the judiciary even in the future.
     
The working group observed further that Parliament’s scope for contributing to the country’s foreign policy is not as good as it could be, listing a number of alternatives to improve the decision-making in relation to foreign policy. The list also contains a number of alternatives as to who should attend the summits of the European Union in the future.
      One of the alternatives to amend the Constitution is to state that the foreign policy of Finland is directed by the Government in cooperation with the President of the Republic. The present wording says ”is directed by the President of the Republic in cooperation with the Government”.
     
A more drastic reform would be to turn the status of the President into a purely ceremonial office.
      Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) and opposition leader Jutta Urpilainen (SDP) did not wish to comment on the reforms on Thursday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Halonen names incumbent Ritva Viljanen as Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary (18.8.2008)
  Majority of people would retain Presidential powers (8.2.2007)
  Opposition calls for clarification of Finnish EU affairs´ management (16.6.2006)
  President and Prime Minister oppose further cuts in Presidential powers (28.2.2005)

Links:
  Ministry of Justice
  The President of the Republic of Finland
  Unofficial English translation of Finnish Constitution (.pdf file)