Parties locked in fight over social justice

Professor observes government and opposition taking big swings at each other

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The Centre Party and the opposition Social Democrats are locked in a bare-knuckle fight over the principles of social justice. Welfare policy reform is set to become one of the most challenging tasks for the government coalition - comprising the Centrists, the conservatives of the National Coalition Party, and the Greens and Swedish People's Party - during this parliamentary term and possibly even the next.
      The experts do not support Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's claim, made last week, that the sitting government is more social justice-minded than its predecessor from 2003 to 2007, in which the Centre Party and the Social Democrats shared the reins.
      The Social Democrats, meanwhile, have lambasted the current administration for what it sees in their policy programme as signs of increasing disparity, with families with young children and those on small pensions particularly at risk.
      According to professor of philosophy Timo Airaksinen from Helsinki University, it is impossible to measure the degree of one's devotion to social justice, and thus Vanhanen is using a very big stick and very tough arguments when he claims the high ground for the present coalition.
     
Prime Minister Vanhanen has also stoutly defended the government's proposals for welfare policy reform.
      "We are distributing more money to low-income earners. That is the long and the short of it", Vanhanen says.
     
However, opposition leader Eero Heinäluoma, the SDP Chairman, thinks Vanhanen's views are completely without foundation.
      "This government is boasting of its EUR 250 million efforts in income distribution and welfare services, although the Finnish nation is now over 20 billion euros wealthier than it was four years ago, when the previous government came in. This is no cause for that kind of breast-beating", charges Heinäluoma.
     
The SDP are naturally irked that the government are attempting to move onto their traditional left-of-centre turf, in much the same way as the previous Vanhanen-led coalition of Centre Party and Social Democrats sought to protect their right flank against the then opposition National Coalition Party.
      The debate and rhetoric over welfare reform is likely to be well to the fore when Parliament reconvenes next month.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Budget proposal: alcohol tax to go up, taxation of pensioners and inheritance to ease (2.8.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat