The tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reports that the parliamentary social affairs and health committee on Tuesday evening finally reached accord on the controversial social and health care reform package. The long-debated issue is expected to be one of the dominant themes of this spring’s election campaigns.
On Wednesday the plan will be returned to the constitutional affairs committee, which rejected the previous version as unconstitutional. Few details of the new plan have leaked out except that it is a simplified version of the Stubb cabinet’s plan. Under the new blueprint, each municipality would only be part of one consortium of local authorities that would produce services, rather than the earlier two-tiered plan.
Ratification of the plan is likely to go down to the wire as the current legislature breaks up just over two weeks from now, on 14 March.
Ilta-Sanomat also publishes the somewhat surprising results of a poll on how much today’s Finns respect the generation that lived through the wars of 1939-45. The Taloustutkimus survey was commissioned by the Finnish veterans’ association, timed to the 75th anniversary of the Winter War.
Unsurprisingly, 85 percent of Finns expressed great respect for the wartime generation. The breakdown by party affiliation revealed one quirk though: supporters of the Greens, which Ilta-Sanomat says are seen as “pacifists and internationalists” indicated a higher level of respect than followers of the nationalist Finns Party. The paper points out that respect for war veterans was one of the central themes propounded by the late boxer and MP Tony Halme, who was one of the Finns Party’s founding fathers.
KL: A mysterious tweet, statistical shrinkage
The business dailyKauppalehtinotes that while companies' need for data is growing, Statistics Finland is cutting back on staff. The paper interviews the central statistics office’s director, Marjo Bruun, who is confident that it will still be able to carry out its legally-mandated responsibilities despite budget cuts of3-4 million euros this year. The agency is pink-slipping 21 employees out of a workforce of 1,000.
KL also reports on a cryptic tweet sent by Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea on Tuesday. It simply contained the numbers “62.2618611, 25.7712778” – apparently the GPS coordinates of the Seppälä district of the south-central Finnish city of Jyväskylä, where the company may be opening its sixth Finnish store.
Invitations to a press conference on Wednesday morning at that location have also been sent by courier to various media outlets. Those on hand are to include Jyväskylä’s Director of Urban Planning Projects, Anne Sandelin.
KS: Summer jobs in Kouvola, autumn glamour in Kotka
The small provincial paperKymensanomat, based in the south-eastern town of Kotka, digs into the latest jobs figures for its region. According to data from the regional Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre), the nearby city of Kouvola boasted 1004 new open jobs in January, while Kotka only gained 254. KS explains this apparent anomaly by pointing out that Kouvola’s numbers include hundreds of summer job spots that went up for grabs last month. For instance the Tykkimäki amusement park plans to hire more than 230 seasonal workers, while the city of Kouvola will hire hundreds. Local cooperative store group Kymen Seudun Osuuskauppa also plans to take on about 100 people as summer help.
Turning to entertainment, the paper takes a peek behind the scenes at the Kotka city theatre, where rehearsals are underway for a new musical to open next autumn.Sugar - The Musicalis 1972 a stage adaption of the 1959 comedy classicSome Like It Hot, with music by Jule Styne.Starring in the glamorous role of Sugar Kane is Johanna Kuuva, who takes on the challenge of filling Marilyn Monroe’s, erm, shoes.
The paper’s website meanwhile features an unboxing video presenting the latest edition of Finland’s state-issued baby box – which includes 54 products for newborn care. The sturdy cardboard package can double in a pinch as a makeshift crib. This curiosity recently made a story on “why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes” the most-shared story ever on the BBC website.