SDP MP Antti Kalliomäki: Jutta Urpilainen has had difficulties as party chairwoman from the start
Jutta Urpilainen
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Antti Kalliomäki
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Eero Heinäluoma
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Maria Guzenina-Richardson
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Erkki Tuomioja
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Ari Korhonen
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MP Antti Kalliomäki, who has led the regeneration efforts of the Social Democratic Party, calls for the SDP ranks to pull themselves together and to give their “full support” to the party chairwoman Jutta Urpilainen.
A Helsingin Sanomat opinion poll from Sunday revealed that only a third of the SDP supporters consider Urpilainen a good candidate to continue as the party’s chairperson.
The supporters of the National Coalition Party and the Centre Party, in turn, stood tightly behind their own chairmen. Jyrki Katainen enjoyed the support of nearly 80% of NCP supporters, while in the Centre Party Matti Vanhanen was backed by 74%, albeit that in the country as a whole Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki appears to have greater public support as a leader of the party.
The situation for Urpilainen is by no means as rosy. Both the veteran MP and former Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and the former party chair Eero Heinäluoma enjoy as much or more support within the party and in the nation at large as does the actual party leader, when it comes to choosing a new head of the SDP.
Kalliomäki is unable to pin down the cause for Urpilainen’s weak support figures.
“Difficult to say, she has had problems right from the start. Our ranks have appeared a bit like spectators. The SDP is still trying to find its form”, the long-time MP and former minister says.
Kalliomäki warns that now is not the time to start looking for new alternatives to the party leadership. “Let’s not try to find new Messiahs. That is not the solution. Already Eero Heinäluoma's term in office was short”, says Kalliomäki referring to the SDP’s previous chairman, who took over from Paavo Lipponen in June 2005, to be replaced by Urpilainen three years later. Lipponen, meanwhile, had headed the party from 1993 onwards.
In Kalliomäki’s view, Urpilainen has genuine capabilities to develop the party and she should be given a chance to prove it. “She needs to be supported as much as possible.”
SDP deputy chairwoman, MP Maria Guzenina-Richardson also considers Urpilainen’s limp support figures a surprise. “In the previous poll her approval rating was significantly higher.”
In the latest opinion poll Heinäluoma and Tuomioja received the highest support figures. No fewer than 43 per cent of the SDP supporters favoured Heinäluoma.
Urpilainen herself was reluctant to comment on the poll result. Party secretary Ari Korhonen, on the other hand, had a clear notion of what is going on. In his view the results did not speak of Urpilainen’s weakness, but rather of the fact that at present there are several very competent politicians within the SDP.
Korhonen also pointed out that Urpilainen still enjoys strong support from the field, for example from the district and union chairmen.
“The party’s matters are resolved by its members. Urpilainen has their support, and no opinion poll can change that.”
Two other female MPs, Guzenina-Richardson and former Minister of Labour Tarja Filatov, also enjoy levels of support within the party that approach those of Urpilainen, although neither of them are seen by the public at large as a realistic option to lead the opposition party.
Links:
Social Democratic Party
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 9.11.2009 - TODAY |
SDP MP Antti Kalliomäki: Jutta Urpilainen has had difficulties as party chairwoman from the start
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