Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso (PS) and Minister of Employment Arto Satonen (NCP) attended a question-time debate in parliament on Thursday, 12 December 2024. Juuso defended a government proposal to reduce hospital services in many parts of the country, rejecting the claim by opposition lawmakers that hospitals would be shut down entirely as “a misconception”. The proposal has nonetheless provoked concerns also among ruling-party members, making tomorrow’s vote important for not only hospital services but also the ruling coalition. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
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MEMBERS of Finnish Parliament are this week faced with a vote that could be consequential for not only hospital services but also the ruling coalition, according to reporting by Helsingin Sanomat.
Lawmakers are tomorrow set to vote on a government proposal that would reduce mostly night-time hospital and health care services in Iisalmi, North Savonia; in Kemi, Lapland; in Kouvola, Kymenlaakso; in Oulainen, North Ostrobothnia; in Salo, Southwest Finland; in Savonlinna, South Karelia; and in Varkaus, North Karelia.
Opposition lawmakers have claimed, falsely, that the government is planning on closing hospitals entirely.
“Not a single hospital in Finland is being shut down, the hospital network isn’t being pruned, not a single operating room is being closed. Right off the bat I’ll clear these misconceptions that the opposition is spreading,” Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso (PS) was quoted saying during a question-time debate in parliament on Thursday.
“We’re distributing the work rationally, which is something well-being services counties can’t do. The counties look at the situation regionally, we look at it nationally.”
The proposal has nonetheless come under criticism also from ruling-party lawmakers, with five declaring publicly that they are unwilling to back it and ready to not bow to the whip: Markku Eestilä and Janne Heikkinen of the National Coalition, and Antti Kangas, Mikko Lundén and Mikko Polvinen of the Finns Party.
Also Sanna Antikainen (PS) on Thursday revealed that she is unsure how she will vote on the proposal. “I’m a representative for Savo-Karelia,” she retorted when asked what factors influence her decision.
Pauli Kiuru, Milla Lahdenperä and Mari-Leena Talvitie of the National Coalition declined to comment on how they plan on voting after a parliamentary group meeting on Thursday.
“I’ll get back to you on Tuesday,” quipped Lahdenperä.
The Finns Party and National Coalition are both intent on enforcing party discipline on the vote, according to Jani Mäkelä, the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, and Matias Marttinen, the chairperson of the National Coalition Parliamentary Group.
“In the government, you vote for government proposals,” Mäkelä told Helsingin Sanomat on Thursday.
They both declined to comment on what kind of ramifications there could be for rebelling lawmakers. “That’s an internal group matter, and I won’t be commenting on that publicly in any way,” said Marttinen.
Ruling-party members in general are required to vote along the party line in order to ensure sufficient support for government proposals.
Another indication of the significance of the vote is that at least four lawmakers are set to suspend their parental leaves to cast their vote: Eveliina Heinäluoma (SDP), Saara Hyrkkö (Greens), Hilkka Kemppi (Centre) and Annika Saarikko (Centre), according to Helsingin Sanomat.
“This is a question of values. The government’s proposal endangers equal access to care for Finns,” Heinäluoma messaged the newspaper on Thursday.
Hyrkkö estimated in a social media post that the cuts are a means for the government to pursue what is an unspeakable goal. “It’s hard to come up with any other motive for this short-sighted undermining of social and health care services than eroding [public] trust so badly that the entire system has to be re-established. The replacement on offer would undoubtedly be based on private services and insurance,” she commented.
Saarikko, meanwhile, said she is particularly concerned about the continuation of overnight services in Salo, which is located in her electoral district of Southwest Finland.
“I’m suspending my family leave for this important vote and will be present in parliament. I want to demonstrate that the government proposal on discontinuing emergency services and downsizing hospital operations is taking Finland in the wrong direction,” she declared in a statement issued on Thursday.
Teemu Muhonen, a political journalist at Helsingin Sanomat, stated in his analysis that if the proposal were to be torpedoed by lawmakers who are worried about their re-election prospects, it would be a severe blow to the government, possibly making decisions on additional cost-saving measures impossible. It could be the beginning of the end for the government, he wrote.
A handful of lawmakers publicly expressing their intention not to back the proposal, he added, could create a snowball effect among representatives from the same electoral districts.
The four ruling parties have 108 of the 199 votes in parliament.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
