Minister of Justice rejects proposal to shorten term of Finnish President
Tuija Brax
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Sauli Niinistö
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Finland’s Minister of Justice Tuija Brax (Green League) commented to Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday that a shorter presidential term will not be under consideration when the current government looks into the functioning of the Finnish Constitution.
In an interview with some provincial dailies on Sunday, Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö (Nat. Coalition Party) proposed that the term of office for the Finnish President should be shortened from six years to four.
Niinistö, who was the defeated candidate in the last presidential elections in 2006, noted further that the President should share the responsibility for foreign policy with the government even in the future.
In Niinistö’s view, a shorter presidential term would alleviate potential problems in decision-making, if the President and the government disagree while implementing foreign policy.
Minister Brax added that if the National Coalition Party insists on shortening the duration of the presidential term, the issue could be considered in a parlamentary constitution working group which is to commence work in about 12 months.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Law Committee, Kimmo Sasi (National Coalition Party) said on Sunday that the party has no official stand on the matter, even though it is under debate.
The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Eero Heinäluoma does not regard it as appropriate to discuss the duration of the presidential term at this point, as potential problems relating to differing opinions between government and head of state cannot be solved simply by shortening the presidential term.
One reason given by Brax for not tampering with the six-year term of office and adjusting it to four years (the normal parliamentary cycle) was that such a move would remove the last vestiges of the idea that the President is supposed to be above everyday politics.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 8.10.2007 - TODAY |
 Minister of Justice rejects proposal to shorten term of Finnish President |
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