”It’s not right that a sitting government should make large undertakings about what will happen in forthcoming parliaments," Backman said on Monday. "I would not have welcomed the previous cabinet writing a budget for our first two years in office,” he said.
Backman attempted to bat off claims that his criticism of the Prime Minister’s National Coalition Party risked causing a split in the coalition government, saying relations between the two parties were good. ”The in-fighting and power struggles within the NCP are much more damaging,” he said.
He called for the government and opposition to put aside differences and work towards balancing the budget. “It’s important to demonstrate to the markets, which respond to the creditworthiness of Finland, that the opposition would also be committed to balancing the national debt in the next parliament,” he said.