On 1 June, the President of the Republic of Finland Juha Sipila appointed the country’s 74th government. This moment marked the dismissal of Alexander Stubb’s cabinet and the coming into office of Sipila, who will be heading the new 14-minister government. The governing coalition will now consist of the Center Party with six ministerial posts, the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party, with four ministerial posts each.
After weeks of cabinet formation talks, party leaders have agreed on a lineup which welcomes the return of ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb as Minister of Finance. Another party boss not leaving the negotiating table empty-handed is Timo Soini from the eurosceptic Finns Party. The freshly appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs is expected to make quite a splash in international and European politics as head of Finnish diplomacy. An outspoken conservative and a deft politician, the right-wing populist managed to become the second most powerful man in the newly formed cabinet.
As Deputy Prime Minister, Timo Soini will have a say in governmental decisions and more leverage over its policies than any other minister holding office. That would not mean much if not for his controversial stance on climate change and strong opposition towards emissions trading. Timo Soini once referred to Finland as the “North Korea of climate policy” due to its climate change agreements and also considers that “green taxes are like shooting yourself in the foot.” A staunch Kremlin critic and US supporter, Soini could also be victorious in persuading the newly appointed government to appeal for NATO membership. He is reported as saying that the government is preparing an analysis in which they will assess the benefits for Finland joining the political and military alliance.
Although he has toned down his rhetoric in the past few years, Soini remains a eurosceptic and a critic of the financial rescue package for Greece. Whether his boss will manage to come to terms with his divergent views remains to be seen. Soini’s stance on Europe might become an issue not only for newly-elected Prime Minister Sipila but for Mr. Stubb, the third leader in the coalition.
A vote of confidence is expected for the new government programme. Prime Minister Sipila wants to push a very ambitious plan forward to pull Finland out of its economic slump. In order to sort out the country’s finances, he announced his intent to cut public spending by at least €6 billion. He is also looking into boosting competitiveness and is in need of support from trade unions as he seeks to increase the number of working hours: “An increase in working hours was one of the tools in the kit.”
The 54-year old Sipila was a successful businessman before turning to politics. He was first elected to Parliament in 2011 and has been leading the Center Party since 2012. His party’s victory in April’s parliamentary elections positions him as one of the country’s political heavyweights, but whether he can provide comfortable and smooth governance will be a different challenge altogether.
