PERSPECTIVE: Fur farmers fund Kiviniemi campaign

Mari Kiviniemi

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By Hanna Kaarto
     
      On Saturday it was revealed that the election campaign of Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi (Centre) had received donations from Finnish Fur Sales. This new information was revealed to the Finnish News Agency STT by Päivi Mononen-Mikkilä, the director of Kiviniemi’s largest supporter group.
      The news did not come as a surprise. Mononen-Mikkilä, who headed the fund-raising organisation, works as the communications director of the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association. Kiviniemi, whose family background is in Ostrobothnia, often wears furs to complement her evening gown at Presidential receptions.
      Mononen-Mikkilä would not say how exactly much money was involved - only that it was less than EUR 1,700, which means that it did not have to be itemised in the mandatory election funding disclosure.
     
This is merely a small morsel of information that has come out concerning Kiviniemi’s election funds. The costs of her Parliamentary election campaign in the elections of 2007 were EUR 65,991, according to the report that she filed with the Ministry of Justice. Of this sum, EUR 5,486 came out of her own pocket.
      Kiviniemi has not disclosed the sources of the money, and apparently does not plan to do so later, because the law does not require her to fully disclose all donations - not the old election funding law, and not the new one.
     
Kiviniemi’s election funding report states vaguely, that economic seminar income was worth EUR 32,000, art sales brought in EUR 16,500, and other similar disclosures.
      The size and secretiveness of Kiviniemi’s campaign has been known ever since the topic of election campaign funding came up in public discourse. There are many others among Finland’s Members of Parliament and government ministers who will not disclose where the tens of thousands of euros collected by various groups of supporters originate.
     
But Kiviniemi is now the Prime Minister. Someone in that position could take a different and more open line.
      The newspaper Iltalehti reported on Saturday that the sources of Kiviniemi’s election funding have not been disclosed, and that she does not want to make a disclosure.
      Kiviniemi did not receive money from the (in)famous Kehittyvien Maakuntien Suomi (KMS). Much information has come out on the background of KMS, so Kiviniemi’s election funding is even further in the dark than that of many others.
      This is why it was amazing how Päivi Mononen-Mikkilä commented on the Iltalehti story on Saturday in Uusi Suomi. She said that the claim in Iltalehti that Kiviniemi is keeping her sources of funding a secret is “completely incredible and stupid”.
      On the contrary. The claim is quite true.
      The Prime Minister is simply obeying the law, just like the previous one said that he was doing.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 25.7.2010


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Mari Kiviniemi chosen as new Centre Party leader and prospective PM (14.6.2010)
  Chancellor of Justice keeps Vanhanen report on foundation funding confidential (10.6.2010)
  Parliament approves Kiviniemi as new PM (23.6.2010)

HANNA KAARTO / Helsingin Sanomat
hanna.kaarto@hs.fi