Coalition government is difficult, especially with five parties of widely differing ideological backgrounds in power, and all the papers follow up on a Helsingin Sanomat deep dive into the current squabbles.
This government, Friday's Helsingin Sanomat reports, has had particular difficulty keeping the Green Party happy as it balances ambitious climate goals and a Centre Party committed to supporting traditional spending on the countryside.
Carbon neutrality by 2035 is the government’s goal and the government laid out a plan to try and reach that target earlier this month.
On stage in eastern Helsinki the five party leaders smiled and outlined their visions, but there were deep differences in the leadup to the announcement.
Green leader Maria Ohisalo was called away from a meeting of the five leaders the day before to debate the issues with her MPs in parliament, so dissatisfied were they about the government’s decision to keep paying subsidies to the carbon-intensive peat-burning industry.
There were even threats to leave the government, as the Greens tried to flex their muscles.
Their problem, reports HS, is that the other parties have won more of their goals: protection for peat and a big government-controlled fund for the Centre, with increased benefit spending and extra staff at nursing homes for the SDL and Left.
The Greens remain unhappy with that situation, according to HS, and if it continues it could lead to further conflict among the governing parties.
Restaurant sector blues
Business daily Kauppalehti has two stories about Finland’s restaurant sector, detailing the churn in outlets as more businesses start up and close down and the difficulty in finding staff for the low-paid jobs in food service.
The top line in the first story is that the number of bankruptcies reached 258 in 2019, from 232 last year. That largely reflects growth, however, as firms’ turnover has increased and the number of new restaurants is also growing.
KL says that competition in the bigger cities is fierce, and that while alcohol sales have dipped slightly, eating out is more interesting for Finns these days.
The second story reports on a labour shortage in the sector.
S-Group, which runs multiple restaurant brands in Finland, says that it has struggled to find qualified staff to work as waiters, chefs and floor managers.
The firm says there has been a shortage in the big cities and Lapland for years, but that’s now spread nationwide.
In an effort to meet demand and keep all their outlets open, the company is hiring chefs from the Philippines.
Storm on the way
Iltalehti reports on a storm heading towards Finland this weekend. The weather front will bring very strong winds to many parts of the country, and could knock out power for exposed households.
Some 20-30 millimetres of rain are expected on Saturday, and storm-strength winds at sea. There are warnings for high waves as well, making this an exceptional ski holiday season.