News
The article is more than 2 years old

APN podcast: Is Finland seeing increased extremism?

This week Yle News' podcast probes the significance of Independence Day protests and learns that some long Covid patients in Finland are telling doctors they're depressed to access benefits.

Itsenäisyyspäivän mielenosoitus 6.12.2022 ja All Points North-logo.
Image: Sakari Piippo / Yle
  • Yle News

With Independence Day demonstrations becoming as much of a custom in Finland as the presidential gala, the All Points North podcast asks if far-right sentiments will carry over into the general election next spring.

"If extremist parties want to gain any foothold then they need some kind of crisis," Turku University political scientist Vesa Vares explained. "Nobody seems to care about Covid vaccinations or refugees, so they really don't seem to have that much to build on right now."

Independence Day protests and long Covid patients’ uphill battle

All Points North also hears why long Covid patients in Finland face an uphill battle.

"This debate among doctors about whether long Covid is an actual physical disease or more of a like a functional disorder...this might be one of the main reasons why treatment here in the public sector is lacking," Kirsi Karppinen of Yle's investigarive unit MOT told the show.

Following up on an audience question, APN finds out what rising electricity costs mean for owners of centrally heated flats, as those living in electrically heated homes have been the hardest hit so far.

"Everyone and everybody living in housing companies should be expecting some kind of hike in the maintenance fees," Tuomas Viljamaa of the Finnish Real Estate Management Federation told APN

Join the discussion

This week's show was presented by Ronan Browne and Zena Iovino. The sound engineer was Mikko Kymäläinen.

If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi and allpointsnorth@yle.fi.

Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then sign up to receive our weekly email!