Prime Minister warns of political crisis stemming from election campaign money affair

Vanhanen himself faces questions over political donations from business interests

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Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has warned that public support for the Finnish political system is being jeopardised by a political crisis after a large number of Members of Parliament have been seen to have violated the law by failing to disclose the sources of their election campaign funding.
      Vanhanen called the matter at hand a “crisis of legitimacy” - in other words, he feels that there is a danger that the political system could lose the confidence and approval of the nation.
     
“There is a risk here of such a large crisis, that exceptional responses are also needed”, Vanhanen said on Tuesday in the hallways of Parliament. He was summoned there from a plenary session of Parliament to respond to journalists’ questions on the issues of campaign financing.
      Vanhanen proposed two ways of avoiding the crisis.
      First of all, he appealed to all Members of Parliament that they should supplement their campaign finance disclosures and send them to the Ministry of Justice this week, if there is anything further to add.
      Another aspect in easing the crisis would be to amend the law on campaign finances, to make it more restrictive.
      “I have not come up with other means for trying to restore confidence”, Vanhanen told the reporters.
     
The Prime Minister also said that he had invited the chairs of all Parliamentary parties and Minister of Justice Tuija Brax (Green) to a meeting on Friday to discuss amending the election finance law.
      Vanhanen said that it is important for all of the campaign finance disclosures to be submitted by Friday, so that the party leaders might have as good an overall picture of the matter as possible.
     
Prime Minister Vanhanen himself is in the midst of an election funding mess, and a looming crisis of confidence, for having accepted money provided by businessmen Toivo Sukari and Kyösti Kakkonen through the Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi association, and for giving public support for Sukari’s project to build a new shopping complex - Ideapark - in Vihti, in the south of Finland.
      Fuel was added to the fire of suspicion on Tuesday when the late-edition tabloid Iltalehti wrote about plans to bestow special honours to Kakkonen.
      A group of politicians who had received campaign support from Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi put in an application for an honorary title for Kakkonen immediately after last year’s Parliamentary elections. The politicians include three National Coalition Party MPs - Sauli Niinistö (the current Speaker of Parliament), Jyri Häkämies, and Marja Tiura - as well as the Centre Party’s Paula Lehtomäki.
     
Vanhanen’s name was not on the list, but as Prime Minister, he heads the board that decides on such titles, and puts forward proposals to the President.
      Pressed by reporters, Vanhanen denied that there was any linkage between the election support and the honours.
      “There can be no significance in that”, he said, noting that the application was handled by the board already in November last year, and it did not get sufficient support at that time.
      Vanhanen said that when the application comes up again, he would recuse himself from the decision.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Brax wants monitoring of election campaign funding away from Ministry of Justice (19.5.2008)
  Prime Minister regards election campaign funding mess as serious (19.5.2008)
  Members of Parliament revising campaign finance reports (16.5.2008)
  Tapani Yli-Saunamäki: “Treasure chest” handed out money and paid campaign bills (20.5.2008)

See also:
  Election financiers (18.5.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat