MP Paavo Arhinmäki wants greener shade of red for Left Alliance

Successor to Korhonen to be named in two weeks

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Greener politics and a greater focus on the needs of small business owners and people working on fixed-term jobs are how 32-year-old Left Alliance MP Paavo Arhinmäki wants to raise his party out of the doldrums in which it was left by its defeat in the elections for the European Parliament.
      The Helsinki native is considered the favourite as the new leader of the Left Alliance following Wednesday’s resignation of party chairman Martti Korhonen.
     
However, Arhinmäki is not running unopposed. Another young party figure, Parliamentary group deputy chair Merja Kyllönen, 32, also announced her candidacy for the post, backed at least by MP, Minna Sirniö, chair of the women’s organisation of the Left Alliance.
      MP Markus Mustajärvi and party delegation chair Katja Syvärinen, who have sought the party leadership before, are now not interested in running.
     
Korhonen announced his resignation on Wednesday, with immediate effect.
      Announcing his decision, he said that he wanted to put a stop to rising discussion on whether or not he had failed.
      A new chair will be chosen at an extraordinary meeting of the delegate council of the Left Alliance on June 27th. Until then Arhinmäki, the party’s first deputy chair, is serving as provisional chairman..
      Arhinmäki sought the party leadership already in 2006 when Korhonen was chosen to replace Suvi-Anne Siimes, who resigned before the completion of her term. One of the reasons that Siimes gave for her resignation was that she was tired of being the target of sniping by others in the party.
     
In Arhinmäki’s vision, the Left Alliance should operate as a civic movement, where goals should come from members and supporters, and not directly from the chairman.
      He also does not want to be seen as the sole rescuer of the party.
      “Nobody is a messiah, nobody will raise the party back up alone. It will be done all together.”
     
Arhinmäki feels that social security should better take into consideration the current trends at work, especially the needs of those working at fixed-term jobs.
      He welcomes owners of small businesses into the party, noting that many of them operate at a high risk, and low income.
      He also would like environmental matters to be brought out more forcefully. He feels that they should be linked with criticism of capitalism.
      Arhinmäki believes that such measures could help raise public support for the Left Alliance from the present low levels into the “double digits”.
     
Paavo Arhinmäki rejects Korhonen’s criticism, according to which the party’s Members of Parliament were not interested in working for Left Alliance by running for the European Parliament.
      “I made it clear from the beginning that i felt that it would be unfair toward the voters to go to the European Parliament two years after being elected to [the Finnish]́Parliament. I worked hard for a month and a half and attended election rallies.”
      He feels that the party’s defeat in the European elections was not the fault of just one person.
     
Arhinmäki is seen as a favourite of young members of his party, and of the “red-green” faction. The traditional labour union following of the Left Alliance has sometimes found it difficult to accept his points of view.
      “I do not think that there is any point in pondering pressures from the various groups”, Arhinmäki says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  MP Paavo Arhinmäki on trial over ASEM riot (23.10.2007)
  Left Alliance chooses MP Martti Korhonen as its new chairman (15.5.2006)
  Suvi-Anne Siimes tenders resignation over split in Left Alliance (2.3.2006)
  Election fallout: Left Alliance Korhonen goes, despite doubts it will change matters (10.6.2008)
  Prosecutor drops ASEM charges against MP Paavo Arhinmäki (1.11.2009)

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