I first met Oras when we travelled together to the UN Climate Conference in Kyoto by train nearly ten years ago so it was with real pleasure that I met him again at the recent climate conference at LSE organised by the Campaign against Climate Change. The Greens are in a coalition government and Oras sits on the environmental committee. After the conference I was able to ask Oras a few questions. Finland’s recent experience with nuclear power was just one of the themes I wanted to explore.
Finland had four reactors and is building a fifth. The four reactors provide 15% of our primary energy (26% of electricity). We had the debate about the latest power station five years ago. We were made a series of promises that have turned out to be false. We were told nuclear power would help us meet Kyoto targets - in fact our electricity use per unit of GDP is actually increasing, unlike in many other European countries.
We were also told the nuclear programme would create jobs, a significant argument when you have 9% unemployment, so the unions were in favour. In reality at least 50% of the jobs have been filled by foreigners - even the construction jobs.
How is the new nuclear power station being funded?
We were told that it would be cheap and that no state subsidy would be needed. The reality is that it is being built with French and Swedish state funding supporting the companies building the reactor, so it is other tax payers who are paying for this new plant. They said it would be built in four and a half years, but the reactor is already 1.5 years behind schedule. There are also safety issues that are delaying construction. Our safety inspectorate (STUK) found 700 safety issues in a recent report and we hear from Sweden that their reactors are effectively unsafe.
What other arguments were made in favour of nuclear?
We were told that it would be a necessary bridging technology while renewables were developed, it would be part of a mix of conservation and renewables, but as I said before, energy use in Finland is actually increasing.
How is the Green Party doing in Finland?
We have 15 out of 200 MPs with around 8.5% of the vote. We are working with the Centre Party and the right of centre Coalition Party. The political spectrum in Finland is narrower than here, we are a consensus based society. The Greens don’t like to put ourselves on the traditional left-right spectrum, preferring to argue for particular policies.
Such as?
Well there is a need to reform the social security system in Finland because, like here, it contains perverse incentives, so this has created an opening for a basic income scheme. Our system is still based on the ideal of a full-time job. If you lose one job it is only a matter of a short time before you enter another. In reality many people are in a precarious position of temporary or part-time work. These people are not supported by the unions either. We are proposing an income of 440 euros per month.
The coalition is concerned about our ageing population and finding people to work as carers. The basic income helps here so they are supportive of some features of basic income. Ironically it is the Social Democrats who argue you cannot pay people for doing nothing, but with high unemployment that is exactly what we are doing!
We also have a problem of a group of people who never found jobs during the recession we had in the early 1990s. They have become an excluded group.
What is Finland’s attitude to immigration?
The previous government was anti-immigration. We only allowed a few hundred refugees per year and only 1-3 in a thousand asylum seekers were given right to remain. This also affects the number of foreign students we get. University education in Finland is free to all - including foreigners - but we don’t get many foreign students because almost all courses are taught in Finnish. Even so, as soon as a foreign student has finished their course they basically have to leave the country.
What is the class structure in Finland?
There is an ‘opportunity gap’ opening up. The difference between the rich and poor is becoming more visible. Partly this is the legacy of the recession in the 1990s and children growing up with unemployed parents. The opportunities for men and women are relatively equal until you enter the work place. Women earn 80 cents to a man’s 1 euro. There is also gender segregation, e.g. nurses are usually women. The Greens propose that if a woman has a child the maternity costs should be borne by the state. At present these costs are borne by the employer. We are also proposing to extend parental leave.
This is the second parliament you are in – what did the Greens achieve in the last parliament?
We were not in coalition in the last parliament but for example we did improve gay rights: full civil partnerships, adoption rights and fertility treatment for single women and lesbian couples.
What are the environmental issues in Finland?
The eutrophication of the Baltic sea is getting worse, we are probably beyond a tipping point and many areas in the sea are now essentially dead. Only 2% of southern Finland is under protection for biodiversity – forestry practice is causing biodiversity loss, but taking on the forestry industry is almost an act of treason as the pulp and paper industry has been the backbone of the Finnish economy for so long. Remains of old forests can be found in the far north - in Lapland - but this is also an area of high unemployment, so it is difficult to protect the forest.
The Finnish Greens see the need for strong alliances in Europe to protect the environment through EU legislation. We are probably more in favour of Europe than the average Finn who is a sceptic. I personally used to be opposed to the EU but the only environmental legislation in Finland over the last three years has come from the EU so I am changing my position.
How do you intend to deal with pollution, do green taxes have a role?
Although we led in green taxation ten years ago we have now fallen behind. There is an increasing reliance on market forces. Carbon rationing for example has not even entered the political conversation - it is a uniquely British idea. The Greens would like to see more green taxation of course, we are supporting intelligent green taxation such as a car congestion charge using satellite tracking over the whole country - this is in the government programme.
Tell me about your constituency and how you communicate with your voters?
My constituency is Pirkanmaa, around a university town. I received around 8,000 votes. The greens need to break out of the cities so I did a bicycle tour for ten days, visiting all the municipalities in my constituency, holding public meetings and gaining some media coverage. I learnt from the people I met. There is a difference in concerns between small communities and towns. In towns we are not worried by bears and wolves!
What difference did the trip make to you?
Well I learnt the importance of different styles of communication. Graphs are OK for some, but body language and conversational style matters too. I also realised that ten years in parliament will be about the maximum before one loses touch with your society, so while I hope to be an MP in the next parliament that will probably be my last term. I do expect to be involved in ‘green politics’ after that though.
Read more about Oras at www.orastynkkynen.fi
