Prime Minister Vanhanen lashes out at "advice" from SDP leader

Matti Vanhanen

Eero Heinäluoma

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Prime Minister and Centre Party chairman and Presidential hopeful Matti Vanhanen lashed out on Tuesday against Social Democratic Party chairman Eero Heinäluoma for what he sees as advice on how to run his party's ministerial group and Parliamentary group.
      Centre Party leaders have recently been split on planned allocation of transport funds in next year's budget.
      Speaking in Seinäjoki on Tuesday, Vanhanen said that the "mess", which he feels has obscured all other budget questions, was caused by the SDP alone.
      The Centre Party and the Social Democrats have been at loggerheads over highway funding, even though Vanhanen and Finance Minister Antti Kalliomäki (SDP) had officially resolved the dispute. Nevertheless, at the meeting of Centre Party MPs and ministers in Seinäjoki, a number of the party's Parliamentarians continued to complain about what they saw as Kalliomäki's intransigence.
      Apparently in response to the continued criticism from the Centre Party, Heinäluoma on Monday urged government ministers to stand united and support the Prime Minister, which prompted Vanhanen's reaction.
     
Upon hearing about Vanhanen's reaction, Heinäluoma pointed out that his comments were directed at the whole government, and not just the Centre Party. He said that he had emphasised that the whole government must stand behind the budget decisions.
      In his Tuesday speech Vanhanen also took a jab at Sauli Niinistö, the future Presidential candidate of the National Coalition Party, for his support of EU security guarantees. Vanhanen said that Niinistö had not specified the security deficit which would require that Finland ally itself militarily.
      "If Finland felt it had a security deficit, wouldn't it be logical then to speak of NATO membership, and not to want a new European defence alliance?" Vanhanen asked.
      On Monday, Vanhanen had said that he does not want the EU to set up a defence alliance that would be in competition with NATO, nor does he see a need for Finland to join NATO.
     
One possible reason for Vanhanen's reaction could be a poll published on Tuesday by a number of Finnish provincial newspapers, according to which Niinistö is slightly ahead of Vanhanen in the upcoming Presidential race.
      The poll indicated that Niinistö had 19% support, putting him two points ahead of Vanhanen. The overwhelming favourite in the poll is incumbent President Tarja Halonen, whose 58% would guarantee re-election in the first round.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Disagreement within government on allocation of transport funds (3.8.2005)

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