Mustajärvi said he had made his decision on Monday, when the negotiations were four days old. He said that he could not give details of his working group’s discussions. In general terms, he criticized the growing eurozone crisis and the growth of government debt.
“After Portugal, more and bigger eurozone cases will come along,” said Mustajärvi. “At the same time, Finland’s government debt is going to double in a short period of time.”
”If a list of spending cuts has been ready for so long, they will come in one form or another. It was a personal decision. I told the party chair on Monday that the conflict between my own views and the situation in the talks was so big that I would stand aside.”
He would not estimate the chances of the Left Alliance entering government. He said he had received all manner of feedback on his decision from his party comrades.
“But when I feel this strongly about something, then I don’t try to calculate, I just try to find the best solution.”
Arhinmäki: Mustajärvi’s Own Solution
Left Alliance chair Paavo Arhinmäki said that Mustajärvi’s departure was his own decision. Arhinmäki reminded reporters that the Left Alliance will not enter government before it is clear what conditions and boundaries they can place on the government’s programme.
“Nobody supports or opposes the party entering government yet,” said Arhinmäki.
Mustajärvi was the Left Alliance negotiator in the working group on the trade and industry working group, which deals with employment, agricultural and transport policy, among other areas. His place has been taken by fellow MP, Anna Kontula.
Prime Minister-designate Jyrki Katainen said that the affair does not concern the National Coalition party, and that it does not worry him. He also reminded other parties that they will be expected to maintain party discipline if they join his government.
Social Democrat chair Jutta Urpilainen, meanwhile, said that she thought government talks were likely to continue over the weekend.