Prime Minister regards election campaign funding mess as serious

Matti Vanhanen

print this

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), who arrived in Finland late on Saturday evening after travel abroad, says that the uncertainties of campaign financing are shaking faith in the Finnish political system.
      Speaking to reporters at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Vanhanen said that the stage is set for a very serious situation. “Legislation is drafted so that it would be followed. The best way to fix the situation is that disclosures should be revised quickly”, Vanhanen commented.
     
The Prime Minister himself insisted that he had drawn up his own campaign finance disclosure meticulously, and that he has no need to give further information.
      “I have noticed that this past week some experts in Finland have claimed that my opinion could be bought somehow. I feel that this is a rather unsavoury allegation.”
      During last year’s Parliamentary election campaign, Vanhanen received a donation of EUR 10,000 from the Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi organisation.
      “When I was presented with this possibility, I met with a representative of the association, Tapani Yli-Saunamäki, and asked about the origins of the money to make sure that it was not of foreign origin. I heard that it involved a large number of Finnish entrepreneurs."
      Not all ministers felt that accepting support from abroad would be a problem. The campaign chests of Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) and Jan Vapaavuori (Nat. Coalition Party) were augmented by the Finnish subsidiary of the Swedish investment bank Öhman. Vanhanen did not comment on the move, because he is not familiar with the Finnish operations of the company.

More on this subject:
 Brax wants monitoring of election campaign funding away from Ministry of Justice
 Business organisations rarely give companies guidance on political contributions

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Members of Parliament revising campaign finance reports (16.5.2008)
  Centre Party MṔ´s comments spark campaign finance row (15.5.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat