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Orpo Cabinet

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Orpo Cabinet

77th Cabinet ofFinland
Date formed20 June 2023
People and organisations
Head of stateSauli Niinistö
Alexander Stubb
Head of governmentPetteri Orpo
No.of ministers19
Member partiesNational Coalition Party
Finns Party
Swedish People's Party
Christian Democrats
Status in legislature
Opposition partiesSocial Democratic Party
Centre Party
Left Alliance
Green League
Movement Now
History
Election2023
PredecessorMarin Cabinet

TheOrpo Cabinetis the 77thgovernment of Finland.It was formed following the2023 Finnish parliamentary electionand succeeds theMarin Cabinetled by theSocial Democratsand was formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 20 June 2023. The cabinet is headed byPetteri Orpoand is a coalition between theNational Coalition Party,Finns Party,theSwedish People's Party,and theChristian Democrats.

Ministers[edit]

Out of the total 19 ministerial posts, eight ministers are from the National Coalition, seven from the Finns, three from the Swedish People's Party, and one from the Christian Democrats.[1][2][3][4]

Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party
Prime Minister20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister deputising for the Prime Minister20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Finance
Riikka Purra
20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Education20 June 20235 July 2024RKP
5 July 2024IncumbentRKP
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry20 June 2023IncumbentKD
Minister of Defence20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Economic Affairs20 June 20236 July 2023Finns
6 July 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Employment20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering20 June 20235 July 2024RKP
5 July 2024IncumbentRKP
Minister for Foreign Affairs20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of the Interior20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Justice20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Local and Regional Government20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of Science and Culture20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of Social Affairs and Health20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Social Security20 June 2023IncumbentNational Coalition
Minister of Transport and Communications20 June 2023IncumbentFinns
Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity20 June 2023IncumbentRKP

Program[edit]

Under the coalition deal, the Government has plans to tighten the rules for getting permanent residence and citizenship. Orpo Cabinet is aiming for 100,000 new people to become part of the workforce through, among other things, social security reforms and labor market reforms. The goal is, for example, to reduce the power of trade unions. The government increases funding for research and development and plans investments in rail traffic. In addition, the program aims to tighten Finland's criminal policy.[5]

Riikka Purra,the chair of the Finns Party, justified the party's joining the coalition government by saying that the government program tightens immigration policy and changes Finland's climate policy to be more realistic.Anna-Maja Henriksson,chair of the Swedish People's Party, emphasized that the government will not weaken the position of the Swedish language in Finland. During the government program negotiations, the Swedish People's Party was at odds with the Finns Party on many issues, and Henriksson admitted that it is surprising that the party ended up in the same government as the Finns Party.[6]

Controversies[edit]

Junnila's resignation[edit]

On 27 June 2023,Green League,Left Alliance,andSocial Democratic Partydecided to propose avote of no confidenceagainstVilhelm Junniladue to his alleged connections to far-right movements. On 28 June,the Centre Partyannounced their support for the vote of no confidence.[7]Ahead of the vote, the leader of theSwedish People's PartyAnna-Maja Henrikssonsuggested that Finns Party could replace Junnila with another person. The suggestion was declined byRiikka Purra,the leader ofFinns Party,who threatened to take down the government, if Junnila failed to pass the vote.[8]

In the confidence vote held by the parliament on 28 June, 95 Members of Parliament voted in favor of confidence for Junnila, while 86 voted against. Three MPs abstained from voting, and 15 were absent. The vote created divisions within the government, as seven MPs of the government coalition partner, the Swedish People's Party, voted against Junnila, and three abstained.[9]Purra commented afterwards that the Swedish People's Party's decision to vote against their minister had "wounded the government" and that similar conduct could not continue in the future.[10]

After the vote, there were further controversies on Junnila's past actions, including his past motion that Finland should promote contraception and "climate abortions" in "the underdeveloped societies of Africa" in order to battle curbing population growth and to enhance living conditions in Africa. The motion was deemed outrageous by yet another coalition partner, theChristian Democrats.[11]On 30 June, Junnila announced that he would resign.[12]He was succeeded byWille Rydmanon 6 July.[13]

Controversies regarding the Great Replacement[edit]

In June 2023, it was widely noted in the media that MinistersMari Rantanen,Leena Meri,Ville TavioandRiikka Purrahad repeatedly suggested in the Parliament and social media over the years that ethnic Finns are being demographically replaced in Finland through large-scale immigration.[14]For example, Rantanen had often usedhashtag#väestönvaihto (a term also used in Finnish for theGreat Replacement) onTwitter.Ahead of the2023 Finnish parliamentary election,she also wrote a candidate brief on her website in which she remarked on immigration: "we must not be so blue-eyed [aFinnish term for "naive"] that soon we will not be blue-eyed [a common feature of the ethnicFinnish people] ".[15]

According to researcher Niko Pyrhönen, the use of the term "väestönvaihto" has not been an accident, but a very conscious choice, as there are countless other expressions that could have been used to talk about population change.[16]Finnish Security Intelligence Service considers that the Great Replacement is one of the noteworthy ideological motivations of far-right terrorism.[17]

After heated discussion on social media, Purra, Meri and Rantanen stated on Twitter that they don't believe in conspiracy theories.[18]Prime Minister Orpo commented the controversy by stating that using the wordväestönvaihtowas not enough to shake his confidence in any minister and instead called for more understanding towards one another.[19]

Harassment of journalists[edit]

On 2 July 2023, Ida Erämaa, journalist ofIltalehti,published a column, in which she criticized Finns Party politicians for trying to prevent the media from writing about party's alleged connections to right-wing extremism.[20]Afterwards, Erämaa was subjected to large-scale criticism and harassment on social media, with many comments focusing on Erämaa's persona and private life. Among the critics were certain politicians from the governing parties, including MPsSebastian Tynkkynen,Wille RydmanandTere Sammallahti.[21]Erämaa was supported by the Union of Journalists in Finland and the Association of Editors, among others, who urged the politicians of the Finns Party and National Coalition Party to respect the freedom of the press.[22]

On 6 July, theCouncil of EuropeCommissioner for Human Rights,Dunja Mijatović,released a statement in which she called on the Finnish authorities "to clearly condemn the smear campaign and any violent online threats made against journalist Ida Erämaa, to investigate the incident and provide any assistance she may need.”[23]

Purra's writings[edit]

In July 2023, Purra's online comments written in 2008 prior to her political career toJussi Halla-aho'sScriptablog emerged in the media. In the comments, using the usernameriikka,she frequently used derogatory language about immigrants, and wrote about a confrontation on a suburban train with a group of young immigrants: "If they gave me a gun, there'd be bodies on a commuter train, you see."[24][25]

Purra originally refused to confirm whether she was behind the nickname and also said that she had no intention of resigning or regretting her past actions.[26]However, after the comments were condemned by some representatives from the ruling parties and PresidentSauli Niinistöhad called for the government to adopt a clear zero-tolerance stance on racism, Purra apologized for the comments.[27]Soon after, Purra's newer writings from 2019 started to circulate in social media, in which she referred to women inburqaas "unrecognizable black sacks" in context of criticizing the clothing practice as dehumanizing. Prime Minister Orpo called an excerpt from the writings unacceptable, but considered that Purra's earlier apology was enough.[28]Orpo later clarified that he considers the writings to advocate for women's rights.[29]

By 13 July 2023, all opposition parties had demanded thatSpeaker of the ParliamentJussi Halla-ahowould recall parliament from summer break to hold a vote of confidence in Purra.[30]On 15 July, Halla-aho responded by stating that the matter wasn't urgent enough to recall parliament.[31]

According to a survey conducted in between 14 and 19 July 2023, 47% thought that Purra should resign, while 40% thought that she shouldn't.[32]

Opinion polling[edit]

In June 2023, 49% of Finns predicted that the government would not be able to finish its four-year term, while 28% predicted that it would.[33]In July 2023, the percentage of those who predicted that the government would not be able to finish its term rose to 56%, while 23% thought that it would.[32]Furthermore, 32% thought that the government should resign immediately, while 52% thought that it shouldn't.[32]

According to a survey conducted in August 2023, 23.6% of Finns were satisfied with the activities of the Orpo Cabinet, while 61.7% were not.[34]

Despite the above-mentioned opinion polls, the support of the two largest government parties, the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party, has remained stable after the elections. For example, inYle'spoll in February 2024, the National Coalition was the most popular with 22.4 percent support, the Social Democrats the second most popular with 20.4 percent support, and the Finns Party the third most popular with 20.0 percent support.[35]This is considered a sign that the opposition is unable to offer a decent alternative to the government's policy.[36][37][38]

References[edit]

  • A strong and committed Finland: Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government 20 June 2023.Helsinki: Finnish Government. 2023.ISBN978-952-383-802-4.
  1. ^"Prime Minister Orpo's Government appointed".Valtioneuvosto.Retrieved2023-06-20.
  2. ^"Finland's conservative party picks ministers for right-wing coalition government – The Seattle Times".www.seattletimes.com.Retrieved2023-06-18.
  3. ^"Petteri Orpo to be Finland's new prime minister".POLITICO.2023-06-18.Retrieved2023-06-18.
  4. ^Kumar, Natasha (2023-06-18)."Here are the ministers of basic Finns - Speaker from Halla-ahota".The Times Hub.Retrieved2023-06-18.
  5. ^https://yle.fi/a/74-20037253
  6. ^https://yle.fi/a/74-20037253
  7. ^"Keskusta äänestää Junnilan epäluottamuksen puolesta".Yle.June 28, 2023.
  8. ^"Purra uhkasi kaataa hallituksen, jos Junnila joutuu eroamaan".Helsingin Sanomat.June 28, 2023.
  9. ^"Parliament supports minister after far-right scandal".Yle.June 28, 2023.
  10. ^"Riikka Purra: Tästä syystä Junnilasta pidetään kiinni -" Voi jo tulkita, mitä tulee seuraavaksi... "".Ilta-Sanomat.June 29, 2023.
  11. ^"Essayah vaatii Junnilaa irtisanoutumaan" ilmastoabortti "-kannoistaan".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-06-30.Retrieved2023-06-30.
  12. ^"Vilhelm Junnila aikoo erota".Ilta-Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-06-30.Retrieved2023-06-30.
  13. ^"Wille Rydman nimitettiin elinkeinoministeriksi".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-07-06.Retrieved2023-07-06.
  14. ^"Ministeri Ville Tavio on puhunut väestönvaihdosta useita kertoja eduskunnassa".Helsingin Sanomat.2023-07-03.Retrieved2023-07-04.
  15. ^"Sisäministeri Mari Rantanen kommentoi rotuoppiin liitettyä kirjoitustaan:" Uskon tilastoihin "".Iltalehti.2023-06-22.Retrieved2023-06-22.
  16. ^"Väestönvaihdosta puhuminen oli Rantaselle tietoinen valinta, arviotutkija:" On olemassa lukematon joukko muita ilmaisuja "".Yle.2023-07-04.Retrieved2023-07-04.
  17. ^"Sisäministeri Rantanen on viitannut kirjoituksissaan väestönvaihtoon".Ilta-Sanomat.Retrieved2023-07-01.
  18. ^"Näkyvät perussuomalaiset sanoutuvat irti salaliittoteorioista".Iltalehti.2023-07-02.Retrieved2023-07-04.
  19. ^"Petteri Orpon mukaan Junnila ylitti rajan:" Lopputulema oli oikea "".Iltalehti.2023-07-04.Retrieved2023-07-04.
  20. ^"Näkökulma: Perussuomalaiset patistamassa toimittajia takaisin Kekkosen ruotuun".Iltalehti.2023-07-02.Retrieved2023-07-06.
  21. ^"Iltalehti ei hyväksy yksittäisen toimittajan häirintää – Vastaava päätoimittaja Kauppinen:" Toivon, että tällainen toimintatapa ei leviä "".Iltalehti.2023-07-04.Retrieved2023-07-06.
  22. ^"Suomen Journalistiliitto vaatii hallituspuolueita kunnioittamaan lehdistönvapautta".Helsingin Sanomat.2023-07-03.Retrieved2023-07-06.
  23. ^"Online threats against Finnish journalist Ida Erämaa should be investigated and condemned".Council of Europe.2023-07-06.Retrieved2023-07-06.
  24. ^"Finnish far-right finance minister accused of racist online comments".The Guardian.2023-07-11.Retrieved2023-07-12.
  25. ^"Far-right Finnish leader Riikka Purra sorry in racist posts uproar".BBC.2023-07-11.Retrieved2023-07-12.
  26. ^"Riikka Purra" not resigning "as controversial blog comments resurface".Yle News.2023-07-11.Retrieved2023-07-12.
  27. ^"Purra apologises for" stupid social media comments made 15 years ago "".Yle News.2023-07-11.Retrieved2023-07-12.
  28. ^"Orpo Ylen A-studiossa: Purran kirjoitukset vuodelta 2019 kuulostavat" täysin hyväksymättömältä "".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-07-13.Retrieved2023-07-14.
  29. ^"Orpo: Purra puolusti naisten asemaa blogissaan".Yle News(in Finnish). 2023-07-14.Retrieved2023-07-17.
  30. ^"Keskusta vaatii Halla-ahoa kutsumaan eduskunnan koolle Purran takia".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-07-13.Retrieved2023-07-14.
  31. ^"Puhemies Halla-aho ei kutsu eduskuntaa koolle kesätauolta".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish). 2023-07-15.Retrieved2023-07-15.
  32. ^abc"MTV:n kysely: Riikka Purran pitäisi erota, sanoo 47 prosenttia vastaajista".MTV(in Finnish). 2023-07-19.Retrieved2023-07-20.
  33. ^"USU-gallup: Lähes puolet suomalaisista uskoo hallituksen kaatuvan ennenaikaisesti".Iltalehti.2023-06-26.Retrieved2023-07-04.
  34. ^"MT-kysely: Enemmistö suomalaisista on tyytymättömiä Orpon hallituksen toimintaan ‒" Eipä noin alhaisia prosentteja ole yleensä nähty "".Maaseudun Tulevaisuus.2023-08-18.Retrieved2023-08-18.
  35. ^https://yle.fi/a/74-20073780
  36. ^https://www.is.fi/politiikka/art-2000010217685.html
  37. ^https://www.hs.fi/paakirjoitukset/art-2000010242806.html
  38. ^https://www.iltalehti.fi/paakirjoitus/a/833be9f7-c73f-4012-a7b3-251c4e163b49
Preceded by Petteri Orpo's cabinet
2023 — 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orpo_Cabinet&oldid=1232733074"