Helsingin Sanomat wrote about the debacle of incumbent MEP Teuvo Hakkarainen (Finns) announcing his bid for reelection — without his party's support.
In a press release on Monday, Hakkarainen announced his intentions to run again in June's European elections, even though the Finns Party secretary, Harri Vuorenpää, said he would be excluded from the party's candidate list.
Vuorenpää said that Hakkarainen was aware of the party's decision.
HS called Hakkarainen on his way to a plenary session in Strasbourg, who said he was caught by surprise and unaware that the party would not nominate him.
Hakkarainen did, however, confirm that he received a phone call from the party a few days prior, but that was apparently not enough for him to concede.
"I didn't know, because I can't make decisions like that based on a phone call. I get so many calls [...]," the Finns Party politician said.
He told HS that the party government makes the decisions and he needs written confirmation, a phone call would not suffice.
Hakkarainen has been no stranger to controversy during his political career, having been convicted of assault and sexual harassment as a member of Finnish Parliament.
In the press release, Hakkarainen said that he had been "much asked and even urged to stand for election".
"As the people on the ground are waiting for my answer, I made the decision to participate in the elections last weekend," Hakkarainen said in the release.
HS asked Hakkarainen his opinion on the fact that the party seemed to push him out.
"That's what I'm wondering. But I am a sitting MEP and we have at least had a practice in the party of democratically electing candidates and then the people have said, 'no more bickering'," Hakkarainen responded to HS.
Wolf Pack comeback
Tabloid Iltalehti summarised Finland's comeback win against Denmark in the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers.
Finland's national basketball team, the Wolf Pack, lost against the EuroBasket 2023's runner-up Serbia on Friday by a score of 77-61.
Early in the game, it looked like Denmark was poised to upset the Wolf Pack at home in Espoo. In worldwide FIBA rankings, Finland comes in at the 20th spot, while Denmark ranks 58th.
In the first two quarters, the Wolf Pack played as if they were sleeping, according to IL. Denmark led by as many as 16 points at halftime, but lost their lead after a rallying third quarter performance by Finland.
In the third quarter, Finland outscored Denmark by a margin of 30-14.
The final score was 89-85, with the Wolf Pack coming out on top, led by 23-year-old Mikael Jantunen with 19 points. The Finns were without NBA star Lauri Markkanen during this round of the contest.
Finland has already qualified for an automatic bid to Eurobasket 2025 since the country will be co-hosting the tournament along with Cyprus, Latvia and Poland.
Finnish goods' export destinations
Business daily Kauppalehti covered Finland's most popular export countries in 2023, with the US surpassing Sweden to become Finland's largest export destination.
Finland's main exports to the United States were machinery, equipment and transport gear. As an example, Finland's single most valuable export was the Icon of the Seas cruise liner, worth 1.9 billion euros. It was exported towards the end of the year.
While the value of goods exports to the US grew by two percent last year, exports to neighbouring Sweden fell by nearly 14 percent according to Statistics Finland data. A year prior, the value of goods exported to the US jumped by 75 percent.
"Surely this is a sign of an economy oriented to the West. Trade with Russia has been lost so far, and the draw of trade with China has slowed. The US economy has done better than Europe, so there are natural reasons for this," Pasi Kuoppamäki, chief economist at Danske Bank, told KL.
"It seems logical to export to places where there is growth and sufficient demand. Joining Nato has given Finland more visibility. Let's hope that it will help to make our export efforts pay off," said Petteri Rautaporras, chief economist of the Technology Union.
Although exports to the US grew, the majority of both goods and services exports, roughly two-thirds, still sent to European countries.
Additionally, Finland's forest products exports saw a rough year, falling by an estimated 18 percent. Weak economic development in Germany, Sweden and China played into this drop.
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