Helsingin Sanomat reports that Prime Minister Sanna Marin would like ex-premier and former SDP party leader Antti Rinne (SDP) to replace Johanna Ojala-Niemelä (SDP) as chair of Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee.
The need for an interim replacement emerged after Ojala-Niemelä revealed she would be undergoing surgery for a brain tumor, which would be followed by sick leave starting on 14 December.
Neither Marin nor Rinne has, however, commented on the matter. Marin, who became the world's youngest prime minister a year ago took over the premiership from Rinne following a protracted postal workers’ dispute.
In a post on Facebook, Ojala-Niemelä explained that the Social Democratic Party's parliamentary group would make arrangements regarding her sick leave replacement in the coming days.
Ojala-Niemelä told women’s magazine Me Naiset she began experiencing headaches early in the autumn and later developed unexplained fatigue.
"Doctors say the cancer is benign, but we won’t get the full picture until the operation," she told Me Naiset.
Lapland MP Ojala-Niemelä has held a seat in the legislature since 2007.