Govt, Häkkänen survive no-confidence motions

The four-party alliance government and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen on Friday survived separate no-confidence motions brought by opposition parties in parliament.

The government won the motion by 93 votes to 62 while Häkkänen won the motion by 114 votes to 61, said an official press release.

Earlier on Tuesday, Vihreä Liitto (Green League) lawmaker Atte Harjanne during a general debate in Parliament brought the no-confidence motion against the minister due to his recent visit to Israel and holding meeting with Defence Minister of the country Katz.

Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance) lawmaker Minja Koskela and Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP) lawmaker Tytti Tuppurainen supported Harjanne´s proposal.

In the same debate, Tuppurainen also proposed a motion of no confidence against the government as a whole, citing differences in policy positions within the government as well as inconsistency and passivity in Finland’s Middle East policy.

The motion was seconded by her party colleague Jani Kokko.

Earlier, Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen visited Lebanon and Israel from 13 to 18 September.

In Israel, Minister Häkkänen met Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz. Häkkänen learned about Finland’s future air defence system, David’s Sling, as well as about Israeli civil defence solutions, according to a government press release issued on September 18.

He also visited companies producing systems that have been procured for the Finnish Defence Forces.

Häkkänen also cancelled his visit to Iceland due to the no-confidence motion brought against him in Parliament.

The Minister was scheduled to attend the meeting of Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence ministers in Reykjavík, Iceland on October 1 and 2.