Prime Minister in storm – denies corruption
A political crisis has erupted in Finland, where the government is accused of corruption.
Uncertainties in connection with the granting of hundreds of millions of state aid for a large arena project have led the opposition to demand the resignation of the prime minister.
There are no indications of corruption, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo claimed last week.
He has recently been hard hit by the opposition's questioning of the moves regarding state aid for the Garden Helsinki arena construction. On Tuesday, the Riksdag will interrupt its summer recess to hold a vote of confidence in connection with the matter.
The vote comes after Orpo announced on Monday that the entire project in its current form no longer has government support.
“The project has been delayed. The financing is unclear and the competitive situation for arena projects has changed. In addition, a shadow hangs over the support decision,” he said at a press conference.
He has previously said that his biggest mistake in the context was that he had failed to explain himself clearly enough.
The Prime Minister emailed
The scandal became a fact when the newspaper Vantaan Sanomat reviewed the decision to grant Garden Helsinki the 35 million euro support, equivalent to around 385 million Swedish kronor. Another planned arena a few kilometers outside the city center had not received government support.
The Ministry of Finance had previously rejected support for both projects. Yet one of them – Garden Helsinki – ended up on the Coalition Party’s list of projects worth supporting, writes Hufvudstadsbladet.
It has been revealed that the chairman of the project company for Garden Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, did not give up and instead emailed the prime minister. Shortly afterwards, the decision on state support was hammered through.
Vapaavuori is a former mayor of Helsinki and has a background in the Coalition Party, which is currently led by Orpo.
The project also has a cooperation agreement with the construction group SRV, whose major owner Ilpo Kokkila is one of the Coalition Party's largest financiers, reports Hufvudstadsbladet. According to Orpo, however, the connection is completely coincidental.
“Humility”
According to several analysts, it is unlikely that Orpo will be defeated in Tuesday's vote of confidence. He himself said on Monday that he is approaching it with humility.
– I want to convey that Finns can trust political decision-making and that lobbying cannot influence the decision-making process. That is the message I want to convey.
The Prime Minister says he trusts the Chancellor of Justice's upcoming review of the entire process.
- Then my own role will also be clarified. That is why the Chancellor of Justice exists, he said last week, writes Yle.
Garden Helsinki
The controversial construction project Garden Helsinki is an arena to be built in Töölö in Helsinki. The arena is intended to accommodate between 18,000 and 22,000 spectators.
Construction will last four years from 2027. The final bill is estimated at around 400 million euros.
Former Helsinki mayor Jan Vapaavuori is the chairman of the project company. He has also represented Petteri Orpo's Coalition Party as a minister in previous governments.
The project has been granted state aid of 35 million euros by the government, equivalent to over 385 million Swedish kronor. The state aid corresponds to approximately 10 percent of Garden Helsinki's total estimated cost.
The decision, and especially the unclear decision-making process, has been questioned by opposition politicians. Among other things, it has been highlighted that Jan Vapaavuori and the Prime Minister are party colleagues.
Source: Yle
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