Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) on Sunday faced questions that arose during recent presidential debates, such as whether Finland should allow the transportation of nuclear weapons on its soil.
Orpo said there were solid reasons for allowing the transit of nuclear weapons and that the matter will likely be taken up after the new president is sworn in. During his campaign, Alexander Stubb said Finland should allow for the transit of nuclear weapons.
Another issue that emerged during the presidential elections concerned the candidates' position if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to call them to offer congratulations.
When asked whether he would pick up the phone if his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, phoned, Orpo said it wouldn't be possible at this time.
The premier also emphasised Russia's responsibility for Aleskei Navalny's death. "They are ready to hold onto power by any means. The world needs to realise how ruthless the Russian leadership is."
According to Orpo, the best countermeasure now is to ramp up support for Ukraine, a sentiment echoed by Stubb at a global security conference in Munich this weekend.
Orpo was also asked why Finland has expressed interest in Nato land force headquarters, and not the navy or air force.
"If anywhere, this is where we need those ground forces," he said.
Orpo: Nobody can veto
This week saw strikes impacting many facets of Finnish society.
An Yle poll found that the strikers still have the support of the majority of Finns, with 58 percent saying they approved of the trade union strikes against the government's labour market reforms.
Orpo, however, staunchly defended the government's labour reforms, saying he perceived the political strikes as ideological opposition to the government. He added that nobody has a veto right over the government's reforms.
"We really want to find a solution that the trade unions are willing to accept," he said.
When it came to questions about the economy, Orpo did not want to elaborate on the scale of additional austerity measures beyond saying that they were in the billion euro range. He also did not want to detail specific savings areas or tax increases ahead of this spring's budget session.
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