RAY Chairman Vihriälä resigns in midst of election funding furore

Ex-MP says dissolution of Parliament should be considered

Antti Kaikkonen

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The Chairman of the Board of the Finnish Slot Machine Association (RAY), former Centre Party MP Jukka Vihriälä, has resigned from his post.
      On Tuesday it was revealed that Vihriälä had received electoral support from Nuorisosäätiö, a youth housing foundation with close ties with the Centre Party, which receives financial support from RAY.
      The electoral support consisted of the purchase of paintings for the price of EUR 24,000. The deal was struck with the chairman of Nuorisosäätiö.
      Centre Party MP Antti Kaikkonen yesterday resigned from his post as chairman of Nuorisosäätiö.
      In an announcement on Tuesday, Kaikkonen said that he was not aware of the extent of electoral support granted by the foundation, although he should have been. He also said that he would retain a seat on the board of the foundation.
     
Vihriälä said on Tuesday that he should have understood the limitations placed on him by his position in RAY, which would have precluded him from accepting financial support from a recipient of RAY funding.
      He admitted to being guilty of “stupidity”, but not of any crime.
      On an television news interview with the MTV3 network, Vihriälä said that the dissolution of Parliament should be considered.
      Speaking to Helsingin Sanomat, he called for changing the Parliamentary electoral system in such a way that voters would vote for a list of candidates set by the party, and not for individual candidates as is the case now. He said that this would solve the problem of personal campaign contributions to individual candidates.
     
Vihriälä served in Parliament for 24 years. In the most recent elections he failed to win re-election. Tuesday’s events were a setback to his hopes of returning to Parliament in the next elections.
      The RAY management feels that Vihriälä did the right thing when he decided to resign from his post. RAY’s head of communications Matti Hokkanen (Left Alliance) says that Vihriälä was not pressured in his decision.
      Vihriälä had disclosed the campaign support that he had received to RAY Managing Director Sinikka Mönkäre (SDP) and the rest fo the management on Tuesday morning. Mönkäre had no comment on the resignation.
      “The resignation was Vihriälä’s decision, and I believe it was the right one. He felt that it would be wise for RAY to resign, so that no more shadows would be cast on RAY”, Hokkanen says.
     
RAY had previously asked all organisations that received funding from the association to disclose possible support to political parties and candidates between 2005 and 2009.
     
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) does not believe that the controversy over election campaign funding would lead to the dissolution of Parliament.
      During a visit to the United States, Vanhanen said that he does not feel that new elections would be necessary.
      Vanhanen also said that he was surprised that former MP Jukka Vihriälä had resigned from his post at RAY, adding that he understands the reason.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen sees no problem with foundations making campaign donations (22.9.2009)
  Vanhanen got campaign contributions for nonprofit housing foundation (21.9.2009)

Links:
  RAY website

Helsingin Sanomat