Govt survives motion of no-confidence over economic policy failure

The four-party alliance right-wing government led by Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) on Wednesday survived a no-confidence motion brought against it in the parliament by the opposition parties over the failure of the government's economic policy.

The government won the motion by 99 votes to 86 with 14 lawmakers remaining absent.

Leaders of the main opposition the Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP), Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party of Finland), Vihreä Liitto (Green League), Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance) and Liike Nyt (Movement Now) - filed the interpellation asking the government to explain the reasons behind the failure.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government’s response to the interpellation was presented by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

The Premier provided an overview of the economic challenges of the parliamentary term and the government’s measures. He concluded that the economic trend has now turned to growth and underlined the importance of hope.

"We all have a responsibility now to ensure that we do not, through our own words, talk growth back into the mire. Let us recognise the good that we have and, dear opposition, let us build on that," said Orpo.

After the Prime Minister, the first signatory to the interpellation, SDP Parliamentary Group Chair Tytti Tuppurainen, took the floor.

She said that the government has failed to deliver on its economic policy promises as no new jobs are being created and government debt continues to grow.

"People now need confidence. Politics must provide a vision of something better. It must ensure that, even in difficult times, Finland keeps everyone on board. In this respect too, the Government's policy unfortunately fails," said Tuppurainen.

A total of 198 speeches were delivered during the interpellation debate.

Government representatives highlighted, among other things, the growing national debt, population ageing and the necessity of defence investments.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, called for a fairer adjustment of the economy.

The debate covered a broad range of economic issues such as employment measures and support schemes, growth initiatives, taxation, citizens’ purchasing power and access to healthcare, as well as entrepreneurship conditions and regional policy.

The opposition parties filed the interpellation on April 30.

They held the government responsible for worsening economic situation, increasing unemployment rate, poverty and homelessness during the regime of the right-wing government.

Terming the government's economic policy as the most unsuccessful in Europe, they urged the government to quit taking the responsibility of the failure to handle the economic issues.

Dissatisfaction among the people with the government's performance also increased significantly in the country.

A survey commissioned by the Foundation for Municipal Development (Kaks) said Majority of Finnish people believed that the present four-party alliance government led by conservative Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) has failed in most of the policy areas.

About 76 percent people think that government handled the employment issue poorly while 70 percent expressed dissatisfaction over badly handling of social and healthcare issues, said the survey results released on April 25.