US President Donald Trump — once again — dominates Finnish newspaper headlines on Thursday, as journalists and economists try to make sense of the latest twist in the tariffs saga.
On Wednesday night, Trump announced that he was hitting the pause button on the sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs he announced with much fanfare and relish last week, although he did ratchet up the pressure on China.
Juhana Brotherus, chief economist at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, tells Helsingin Sanomat that although the worst-case scenario — a global trade war — appears to have been avoided, for now, it's impossible to tell what might happen next.
"This [tariff policy] is not based on any straightforward thinking or logic, but rather on throwing things around randomly," Brotherus says.
Tabloid Iltalehti meanwhile picks up on a post by Finnish investor Kim Väisänen on social media platform X, which carries the same sentiment but uses quite different language.
"Trump's ass lasted exactly one day in the seawater. This guy has no plan," Väisänen wrote.
Although the White House insisted on Wednesday that announcing the tariffs, waiting to see the global reaction, and then starting negotiations with individual countries was the 'plan' all along, Brotherus tells HS that this strategy could have many unintended consequences.
"Uncertainty, especially through the weakening of investments and private consumption, means that … the probability of a US recession this year is still over 50 percent," he notes.
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Tax cuts incoming?
It must be election season, because Iltalehti — citing unnamed government sources — writes that the four-party coalition is "considering" a cut in Finland's income tax rate.
The government parties are set to begin budget framework negotiations later this month, and IL reports that PM Petteri Orpo's administration is looking into cutting taxes as a means of stimulating economic growth.
"The idea behind the reduction in income tax is that it would encourage people to work, for example the unemployed to take up work, and to increase people's purchasing power," IL notes, without much further explanation.
It has been previously reported that the budget negotiations would be based around a report, published in February by an Orpo-appointed working group. However, it did not mention a cut in income taxes.
With the Finnish government committed to finding billions in savings during its term in office, and with sweeping austerity measures already in place, it is difficult to see how an income tax cut would fit into the overall strategy.
Iltalehti's source explains.
"The government would seek additional savings in the budget process based on how much the measures in the growth package would cause a dent in the state finances."
Or, in other words, the policy will give with one hand and take away with the other.
The All Points North podcast hosted a panel election special to discuss the key issues in Finland's municipal and council elections. You can watch the episode from the player below or listen via Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Vomiting passengers
There were strong winds across many parts of Finland on Wednesday evening — as a snowstorm approaches.
It was also windy at Helsinki Airport.
Ilta-Sanomat reports that the northwesterly gusts led one Finnair pilot to abort landing a jet at Helsinki as it arrived from London.
The aircraft was "lurching violently" as it came in to land, IS writes, leading the pilot to take evasive action.
The last-second pull-up, when the plane was just 100 metres from the ground, led to many passengers getting sick, IS adds.
"A pull-up is a normal operation, and we prepare for it on every flight. It may seem scary to the passenger, but a pull-up is an operation that is done for safety reasons," Finnair's Communications Director Päivyt Tallqvist tells the paper.
The pilot managed to bring the aircraft safely to the ground in a second landing attempt.
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