Social Democratic Party leader Heinäluoma joins government in extensive reshuffle

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Social Democratic Party chairman Eero Heinäluoma will join the three-party coalition government as Minister of Finance in late September.
      The operation to make room for Heinäluoma in the government involved the reshuffle of four other SDP portfolios. Heinäluoma was elected the new chairman of the SDP in June.
      In addition to Heinäluoma, another new minister will join the government - Susanna Huovinen, the deputy chair of the SDP Parliamentary group. Huovinen, 33, will take on the post of Minister of Transport and Communications.
      Leaving the government will be Sinikka Mönkäre, the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, and Johannes Koskinen, the Minister of Justice.
      In the reshuffle, the present Finance Minister, Antti Kalliomäki, will become the new Minister of Education, replacing Tuula Haatainen, who will take the portfolio vacated by Mönkäre. Koskinen, who will join Mönkäre on the Parliamentary benches, will be replaced as Minister of Justice by the present Minister of Transport and Communications, Leena Luhtanen.
     
Heinäluoma prepared the new composition of the SDP ministerial group quickly. The people directly affected by the moves did not get any advance warning. Heinäluoma also said that ministerial reshuffles that take place during a Parliamentary term will become a permanent practice. He also emphasised that he found no fault in the performance of any of the ministers affected by the move
      The changes will not take effect until after Kalliomäki presents next year’s draft budget to Parliament.
      Heinäluoma said that Kalliomäki had felt that the new party chairman should take on the post of Finance. "I felt that it was absolutely necessary that Minister Kalliomäki remain in the government", Heinäluoma added.
     
Mönkäre said that she was pleased to give space to someone younger after spending ten years as a minister. However, her face indicated that the events of the day had been dramatic.
      Justice Minister Koskinen, who learned about the decision during a visit to Britain, charged that the reshuffle was too extensive. However, he would not criticise the choice of Luhtanen as his replacement.
     
On the opposition side, National Coalition Party Parliamentary group chairman Ben Zyskowicz was critical of having Koskinen replaced by Luhtanen, whose academic background is in political science, and not the law.
      Opposition Left Alliance leader Suvi-Anne Siimes was concerned at the prospect of having the current Minister of Finance, Antti Kalliomäki, take on the Education Minister’s portfolio, suspecting that his cost-cutting zeal might wreak havoc on Finland’s universities.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  University of Helsinki could face record cuts in personnel (8.9.2005)
  Party secretary Eero Heinäluoma chosen as new Social Democratic Party leader (10.6.2005)

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