Parties eye leading politicians for European Parliament elections next year

Many present Finnish MEPs not seeking re-election

Ilkka Kanerva

Eero Heinäluoma

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A large number of Finnish top politicians are expected to run in next year’s elections for the European Parliament.
      Only four of Finland’s current 14 MEPs have declared that they will definitely seek re-election in 2009.
      Major vote magnets of 2004, who have decided not to run again include conservative Alexander Stubb (over 115,000 votes in 2004), Esko Seppänen (over 72,000 votes) of the Left Alliance, Social Democrats Reino Paasilinna (over 64,000 votes) and Lasse Lehtinen (over 47,000 votes) and the Centre Party’s Paavo Väyrynen (over 44,000 votes).
      There will be fewer mandates to go around next year: because of EU enlargement, Finland’s allotment in the European Parliament is going down by one seat to 14.
     
Former Social Democratic Party leader Eero Heinäluoma is under pressure from his party to seek a seat in the European Parliament. According to information received by Helsingin Sanomat, Heinäluoma is leaning in favour of running. However, MP Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) is not warming up to the idea.
      “It is clear that the decision by all present Social Democratic Europarliamentarians to drop out has increased pressure on me to run. I have received many messages expressing the hope that I would be a candidate. I am presently considering the matter, and thinking about what the work would be like, and how it would affect my personal life”, Heinäluoma said to Helsingin Sanomat.
      The conservative National Coalition Party hopes that former Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva would agree to serve as a vote magnet for the party. Kanerva is expected to bring the party “a huge landslide” of votes. Kanerva himself is not yet commenting on his possible candidacy.
      “It is too early to say anything. It is nearly a year before the elections take place”, Kanerva points out.
     
Another potential MEP candidate being eyed by the National Coalition Party is Marja Tiura, who enjoys massive popularity in the Tampere area and its surroundings. The party is also looking at candidates among those who have retired from day-to-day politics, such as former Speaker of Parliament Riitta Uosukainen, who nevertheless appears unwilling to put her hat in the ring.
      “I seriously considered the matter in 2003, but I concluded that it would not be appropriate from the point of view of my life situation. This was a wise decision, as my granddaughter was born in 2005, and now I am concentrating on my roles as a travelling speaker and grandmother”, Uosukainen says.
      The National Coalition Party also has its eyes on conservative MEP and former rally driver Ari Vatanen, who was elected to the body in France, and whose candidacy in that country appears to be facing some problems. A favourite of former President Jaques Chirac, Vatanen does not have the same standing with his successor Nicolas Sarkozy, which means that he might be given a less advantageous position on the French candidate list, greatly weakening his possibilities for re-election under the system used in France, adding to the appeal of a Finnish candidacy.
      Of the party’s current MEPs, Sirpa Pietikäinen and Eva-Riitta Siitonen are still considering their candidacy.
     
After the Centre Party’s Kyösti Virrankoski said that he would not seek re-election to the European Parliament, his party’s eyes have fallen on Party Secretary Jarmo Korhonen. Helsingin Sanomat has information that Korhonen is seriously considering a run.
      Likely Centre Party candidates also include Esa Härmälä, former president of the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) and the Pekka Mylymäki, chairman of the MTK’s sugar beet committee. Among former Centre Party ministers, there are hopes that Hannes Manninen and Juha Korkeaoja might join the fray.
      Veteran Centre Party politician Eeva Kuuskoski is also seen as a potential Centre Party candidate.
     
Smaller parties are only starting to draw up a list of candidates. A possible contender for the Christian Democrats is the party’s chairwoman, MP Päivi Räsänen.
      “Candidacy is possible in principle; I do not rule it out. We also have our party congress conveniently immediately after the European elections”, .Räsänen says.
      If she were to run, and if she were elected to the European Parliament, she would probably not seek re-election as her party’s leader.
      The Finnish Christian Democrats currently do not have any representatives in the European Parliament. The party hopes to form an electoral alliance with the True Finns, which might get them one seat.
      The Left Alliance sees MP Esko-Juhani Tennilä as a possible replacement for Esko Seppänen, who is leaving the European Parliament at the end of the present term.
      “We are investigating whether or not there is sufficient nationwide support for my candidacy. Financing the campaign is also a big issue. European Parliament elections are expensive, but I am seriously considering a run”, Tennilä says.
     
Parties are also looking beyond the ranks of professional politicians for attractive candidates for the European elections. The three largest parties, the Centre, the National Coalition, and the Social Democrats would all like to have renowned Orthodox priest Mitro Repo, or Father Mitro, to run in the elections. Father Mitro himself has said that he wants to remain a politically non-aligned candidate.
     Curiously, all three parties appear to be under the impression that Father Mitro is agreeing to their request.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  MEP Alexander Stubb to replace Ilkka Kanerva as Foreign Minister (1.4.2008)
  Eero Heinäluoma to give up SDP leadership (11.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat