Helsingin Sanomat’s political analyst Marko Junkkari speculates that 18 government ministers will form Finland's new cabinet as government formation talks wind down this week.
A cabinet of this size would give the Social Democratic party seven ministerial portfolios, the Centre Party five, the Greens three, the Left Alliance two and the Swedish People’s Party one government post.
HS pegs Greens party chair Pekka Haavisto as Finland’s next foreign minister and predicts Left Alliance leader Li Andersson could nab the health and social services top job.
Helsinki policeman indicted for misuse of power
HS also runs a story about a case regarding alleged misuse of police power, denting Finland’s reputation as one of the world’s least corrupt counties.
The prosecutor has charged a Helsinki police officer with dereliction of duty after he allegedly requested money from the parents of a teen who uploaded a video on YouTube of him removing a man from Helsinki’s Central Railway Station.
The family said the officer and his partner requested an after-hours meeting at Pasila station where they each requested 1,000 euros in compensation, having earlier threatened the boy’s mother over the phone that her son could face two years in jail or a 10,000-euro fine if they pursued the case. The following day the officer sent the mother an email including his bank details.
In his closing statements, the officer, who was also indicted for unlawfully accessing information from police databases, accused the parents of ‘systematic lying.’
Helsinki District Court will hand down its decision in the case in a few weeks.
Finnish schools fail to fill plate with subsidised veg
Most municipalities in Finland have missed out on an EU fruit and veg subsidy for schools, according to local news conglomerate Uutissuomalainen, reports Hufvudstadsbladet.
In the 2017-2018 term, schools left 90 percent of a 1.6-million-euro fruit and vegetable subsidy on the table. While schools were thirstier for the EU’s school milk scheme, Finland only used half of its allotted dairy subsidy, totalling 3.8 million euros, according to the Finnish Food Authority.
The Finnish Glasshouse Growers’ Association said few local authorities seemed to be aware of the existence of EU subsidies for school meals.