Friday's papers: Hospital cuts, property questions and cats' right to roam

Should cats be allowed to prowl outside their owners' properties?

A cat.
Cats are the subject of a citizens' initiative looking to ensure they stay under tighter control in future. Image: Laura Valta / Yle
  • Egan Richardson

Helsingin Sanomat covers an upcoming vote in Parliament that could, in the paper's words, be the "beginning of the end" for the government.

Next week a MPs will vote on a proposal to rejig the hospital network, and five government party MPs have already announced they will not support it.

Round-the-clock hospital coverage will be reduced in Kemi, Oulainen, Salo, Varkaus, Savonlinna, iisalmi, Jämsä and Raahe.

Two National Coalition MPs and three from the Finns Party have said they won't support the bill. They have not said whether they will vote against or simply abstain, but parliamentary arithmetic could quickly become challenging if the rebellion spreads.

Once an MP from an adversely affected electoral district announces their opposition to a proposal, pressure builds on others as well, says HS.

The proposal itself would save 27 million euros per year from 2026 onwards, but hospitals are highly visible services and voters are likely to remember these decisions at the next election.

So HS suggests legislators fearing for their future could torpedo the plans.

Opposition parties have sensed an opportunity, according to HS, and even MPs who are on parental leave have said they will turn up to vote on the matter next week.

HS says that if they succeed and defeat the government, it could be the "beginning of the end" for the government.

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Rent or buy?

Iltalehti asks mortgage lender Hypo whether or not it still makes more financial sense to buy than to rent a home.

Higher interest rates have changed the equation over the last three years, and the bank says it is still cheaper to own — but the gap has narrowed from 10,000 euros per year in 2021 to less than 3,000 euros.

That example is based on a 65 square metre flat in the Helsinki region paid for with an 80 percent mortgage.

Hypo expects property prices to increase next year by four percent in the capital region and three percent nationwide.

Caging cats

Ilta-Sanomat reports on a citizen's initiative to ban people from letting their pet cats roam free outside their own properties.

The initiative was posted in June and reached the required 50,000 signatures this week, just before the six month deadline had passed.

Authors claim that domestic cats allowed to roam free "kill millions of wild animals in Finland every year, and cause considerable financial losses".

They want legislation to force owners to keep cats on their properties, and ensure they do not roam freely around the neighbourhood.

In built-up areas, cats would need to be kept on a lead or otherwise caged in even on the owners' property.

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