Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigns

Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigned on Thursday, June 18. Her government was obliged to step down too. A new government, based on the outgoing line-up, will be installed next week.

Finland's Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki announced her resignation on Wednesday, June 18, at 19.15 local time. Later in the evening, President Tarja Halonen, accepted the resignation of Jäätteenmäki and her entire (coalition) government. The government had been sworn in on April 17 and was thus in office for a mere two months. It was a singularly short period of time, considering that since 1983 governments in Finland have remained in office for their full term of four years.

It is no exaggeration to say that for the past two months the political situation in Finland has been extremely tense. Jäätteenmäki's government has not been able to consolidate its position because Jäätteenmäki has been surrounded by controversy all the time. (See Behind the headlines - politics - 17.6. 2003).

Developments came to a head on Wednesday, when Jäätteenmäki made a statement to parliament about the so-called Iraq affair. She assured the house that she had acted correctly when, as (then) opposition leader, she had raised the Iraq issue (during the parliamentary election campaign).

She denied having leaked secret documents but admitted having received for her own use two memoranda from one of President Tarja Halonen aides, named Martti Manninen. Jäätteenmäki told MPs she had not asked for the memoranda and had been surprised that Mr Manninen had sent them to her.

Later on Wednesday, Manninen said that Jäätteenmäki had in fact asked him for documents concerning Iraq, and he had despatched them to her prior to the parliamentary elections in March this year, when she was opposition leader.

This exchange of words finally resulted in members of parliament from the government parties being asked to convene. The Social Democrats wanted Jäätteenmäki to resign. Centre Party MPs wanted the matter to be postponed until next week, a request that the social democrats could not accept. In consequence, Jäätteenmäki announced to her own group that she was no longer able to continue as prime minister and would tender her resignation.









A new government next week

Parliament should have begun its summer recess on June 18, but in the evening it was announced that the house would carry on working through next week. The aim of the three parties in the coalition government - the Social Democrats (SDP), the Centre Party and the Swedish People's Party (of Finland) - is to be able to form a new government, based on the outgoing composition, next week, so that the parliamentary crisis would remain as brief as possible. In the present situation big changes are neither possible nor necessary.




The Centre's parliamentary caucus and the party's leadership are due to convene on Tuesday, June 24, when they will nominate a new candidate for prime minister. The nominee is likely to be the party's deputy leader, Matti Vanhanen, currently Minister of Defence.

Aged 47, Vanhanen is an experienced politician who has been a member of parliament since 1991 and has held various positions inside the Centre Party for thirty years. He became deputy chairman (i.e. deputy leader) in 2000. He holds a master's degree in political science.

The other ministers who have now resigned are likely to be returned to office. The Centre Party will choose a new minister to take Vanhanen's place, if he takes over as premier.

Jäätteenmäki's fate open

It is possible that Anneli Jäätteenmäki will also have to resign as Centre Party leader before her term expires. It is also possible that the suspicions raised by the leak of the Iraq documents may still lead to Jäätteenmäki's involvement being handled in a court of law. If that happens, it will be difficult for her to carry on as party leader.

She was elected leader a year ago and led the party to a clear victory in the parliamentary elections in March this year, when the Centre became the biggest party in the country.

Her career had advanced strongly in recent years. She became temporary leader of the party in 2000 while (the then chairman), Esko Aho, was absent on a study assignment. Last year Jäätteenmäki was voted party leader by a big majority and became prime minister this April.

She was Finland's first woman prime minister and the first prime minister to be elected by parliament. She should have become a "history maker". Instead, her term as prime minister was cut short and ended in misfortune.

Jäätteenmäki was elected as a member of parliament for Helsinki and it is possible for her to continue in that capacity at least until 2007.






















Can the government go on?

The dramatic resignation of the prime minister and the whole government has naturally left a mark on the Finnish political system. It is certain to take a long time for the new government to consolidate its position.

Everything depends on how the relations develop between the two big players, the Social Democrats and the Centre Party. If the SDP and the Centre can improve their working relationship, the new cabinet likely to be formed next week will be able to resume the job of governing.

If, however, the two main parties cannot establish mutual trust, the government will face hard times next year when Finnish local government elections and elections for the European Parliament take place. In addition to that, Finland's discouraging economic situation will produce a headache for the political decision makers.