Minister of Social Security Grahn-Laasonen has asked Kela for proposals to cut social security. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva
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Minister for Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen has asked Kela to produce a list of possible cuts to Finland’s social security benefits.
The request, confirmed during a breakfast television interview on Thursday, has triggered sharp criticism from opposition leaders and raised questions about internal divisions within the governing coalition.
“No decisions have been made,” Grahn-Laasonen said. “But we must seek savings given the country’s dangerous level of indebtedness.”
The move is considered highly unusual. Government that Kela, the national social insurance institution, is not typically tasked with generating policy proposals. Its role is usually limited to providing expert support.
Grahn-Laasonen, of the National Coalition Party, said she wants the list ready before the upcoming government budget framework talks. The negotiations are expected to begin early next month and will be led by National Coalition MP Ville Valkonen, who chairs the group tasked with finding fiscal consolidation measures.
The timing of the request has drawn attention due to earlier statements by Finance Minister Riikka Purra, who said last week that the government had no plans to cut welfare spending further.
Opposition figures described the request as irresponsible and damaging.
Green Party leader Sofia Virta issued a statement condemning the move. “A National Coalition minister asks Kela’s Director General whether to cut from the sickest, the poorest, or the unemployed, while their government partner wants to cut support from children in Finland and abroad,” she said.
Virta said the proposal comes on top of existing welfare cuts made during the current government’s two-year term, including to unemployment benefits and basic social assistance. She said the government has already contributed to rising child poverty.
Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela described the move as “Kela-skumbling by the Coalition Party” and accused the government of exacerbating inequality. “Billions have been handed to the wealthiest and major corporations through tax reductions. Now those costs are being shifted to the poorest,” Koskela said.
She also drew a link to Grahn-Laasonen’s earlier term as Minister of Education, claiming her decisions at the time damaged vocational education.
Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, chair of the Left Alliance parliamentary group, told Yle that the request demonstrated poor judgement. She argued that Kela should not be assigned political tasks and criticised the recent appointment of Lasse Lehtonen, a National Coalition Party member, as Kela’s Director General. “Kela is not a think tank for the National Coalition Party,” Pekonen said.
Kela has not released any statement confirming whether it will comply with the request or detailing the scope of work.
Discussions over the national budget are expected to escalate tensions within the governing coalition. While the National Coalition has pushed for continued fiscal tightening, the Finns Party, led by Purra, has signalled a red line against further cuts to social support.
The government has already introduced several reforms to Finland’s welfare system. Unemployment benefits have been reduced, waiting periods extended, and eligibility tightened. Housing allowance payments have been lowered, and cuts have been made to basic income support.
Budget negotiations will take place in September. The Ministry of Finance will present its fiscal outlook and savings proposals ahead of the talks. The government aims to identify new measures to reduce public debt, currently above 80 percent of GDP.
Public sector unions and civil society organisations have also raised concerns over continued austerity measures. A series of strikes earlier this year focused on opposition to welfare cuts and labour market reforms.
No final decisions on benefit changes will be made before the government convenes its full budget session. Until then, tensions are likely to persist both within the coalition and in Parliament.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
