Prime Minister Vanhanen no longer touring the country

“Now I can focus on big issues”

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By Teija Sutinen
     
      Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that a change in the leadership of the Centre Party will help the government function better, because in the early part of the year Vanhanen will be able to concentrate fully on the job of Prime Minister.
      If Vanhanen had sought to renew his post as his party’s chairman, he would have had to spend much of his time in the spring visiting Centre Party strongholds, and charming the delegates of the Centre Party congress.
      Judging from what Vanhanen is saying, it would seem to be a rather time-consuming activity, especially now that the Prime Minister has to strike a balance between the government’s policy programme and the expectations of the rank-and-file.
     
Political scientists say that the tasks of prime minister and party leader may be difficult to link with one another.
      “A party is an interest group, whose supporters want their interests to be supported. In the government, people need to think about the common interest of the whole country”, says historian Ville Pernaa.
     
Last Tuesday, Vanhanen gave detailed explanations why he is pulling out of the race for the party leadership. He explained it in the Centre Party newspaper Suomenmaa and in an item on his blog already on December 23rd. The main reason that he gave was his upcoming leg surgery.
      At the press conference, Vanhanen said more precisely, that his starting point is that the new party chair would also become the Prime Minister. Only if “special reasons” were to emerge, would Vanhanen be willing to remain as Prime Minister after the party congress.
      “The will of the new chair is the most decisive. If he or she is ready and willing to be the candidate for Prime Minister, the possibility will be there. It is a constitutional process of its own, alongside the political process.”
     
He means that officially, the Centre Party’s congress does not decide who becomes the Prime Minister of Finland; under the constitution, Parliament chooses the Prime Minister. On the other hand, Finland has moved to a practice that the head of government comes from the party that has won the largest number of seats in Parliament.
      According to constitutional expert Antero Jyränki, a prime ministerial reshuffle is not as minor an issue as one might imagine on the basis of recent discussion. He says that it would be appropriate for the rest of the government to resign when the Prime Minister asks to be relieved of his duties. This is what happened when Anneli Jäätteenmäki (Centre) resigned in 2003.
     
Vanhanen says that major issues on the government’s agenda this spring include decisions on getting people to work longer, applications for construction of a nuclear reactor, and proposals of the SATA committee aimed at improving social welfare.
      Of these, extending people’s working lives is especially close to Vanhanen’s heart, as it involves something that came into his mind on the snows of the Ruka skiing resort, which is now being worked on by two task forces, whose work has progressed slowly.
     
The new party leader and Prime Minister will have to deal with one budget proposal in the autumn of 2010, which Vanhanen does not expect to be especially ostentatious, considering the tight budgetary framework. A few months later would come the Parliamentary elections of 2011.
      “There are no possibilities for significant changes, and that would speak in favour of not changing the government policy programme very much.”
      Vanhanen says that the present government has dealt with the basic servicing of the recession, and the deepest hole is behind us. The new PM will have to preside over the growth in unemployment, which Vanhanen said will happen, as the government is powerless to stop it.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 30.12.2009

More on this subject:
 NEWS ANALYSIS: Lame duck, hero, or deserter?

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen heavily criticised in Parliament over retirement age (6.3.2009)
  Government decides on gradual raising of minimum age for old-age pension to 65 (25.2.2009)
  Jäätteenmäki says SDP hounded her out of office (6.10.2003)
  Vanhanen: careful consideration behind decision to give up Centre Party leadership (31.12.2009)
  Vanhanen announces he will not stand for re-election to Centre Party leadership (23.12.2009)
  COMMENTARY: Christmas break gives Centre Party figures time to consider Party leadership issue (15.12.2009)

TEIJA SUTINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
teija.sutinen@hs.fi