Räsänen seat shaky in Finnish elections
The race is on whether Räsänen will also be allowed to take a seat in parliament (the Eduskunta) after Sunday. Photo Kristillisdemokraatit
Northern Europe
It is a stressful parliamentary election for Finnish Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen. She might not be elected for the first time in 28 years. "Whatever may happen, it is in God's hands,” she says.
Räsänen just came back from skiing. An election campaign is a busy time. After an intensive campaign, fatigue begins to set in for the politician best known abroad for the lawsuit pending against her for critical statements about homosexuality. Every day, therefore, she goes cross-country skiing for a while.
Finns will go to the polls again on Sunday for national elections after four years. Even though Räsänen's party, the Christian Democratic Kristillisdemokraatit (KD), is stable at five seats in the polls, the race is on whether Räsänen will also be allowed to take a seat in parliament (the Eduskunta) after Sunday. In recent years, the KD had five seats out of 200 (3.9 per cent of the vote).
Finland is divided into constituencies. In the district of Häme, where Räsänen is running, 14 seats are up for grabs. The Finnish politician will compete with 143 other candidates from 17 different parties in these elections. According to Räsänen, the rise of the right-wing populist Finns Party is the biggest threat to her position. "If they gain more popularity, I will lose my parliamentary seat," she says. Bookmaker Betsson lowered Räsänen's odds on Tuesday from a "fairly certain" chance of winning a seat to "shaky".
Another concern for the Christian Democrats is ageing voters. "Our party may have the most loyal voters, but many voters from four years ago have passed away," Räsänen explains. "Of course, we try to attract young voters, but that is easier said than done."
The Finns Party (formerly the True Finns, a right-wing populist movement) is growing in Häme and embroiled in a nationwide power struggle. According to polls on Sunday, the battle for the premiership will be between Prime Minister Sanna Marin's incumbent Social Democratic Party, the Finns Party and the right-wing conservative National Coalition Party; each stands at around 20 per cent of the vote. Whatever the outcome, a continuation of the current coalition seems impossible.
End of life
Based on current polls, the KD could play an important role in forming a coalition. Räsanen, who was interior minister from 2011 to 2015, is open to a new ministerial post. "Although it is usual for the party leader, in this case, Sari Essayah, to take on a job like this," she said.
While other parties exclude the Finnish Party from possible coalitions, the Christian Democrats are open to everything, Räsänen says. "But we have some positions on which we do not want to compromise."
A major obstacle is euthanasia. In 2018, a bill to legalise the practice stranded in the Finnish parliament. However, Räsänen expects the issue to return to the agenda in the coming government term. "A majority of Finns support euthanasia. It is difficult to explain to them that we have and can use means such as pain relief to ease the end of life."
In light of the debate on euthanasia, Räsänen submitted an initiative bill in December last year to give all Finns the right to palliative care. "We have good end-of-life care, but not everywhere in the country. I have always stressed that we can give dying people a good end of life with high-quality hospice care. A dignified end of life should mean effective palliative care; not killing people."
Furthermore, the Finnish politician expects a renewed abortion debate in the country, which only last year voted to broaden the legislation. As of September, doctors will not have to give permission for abortion up to 12 weeks. "It was a sad result and I am a fierce opponent of it," says Räsänen. She entered national politics 28 years ago, in 1995, precisely because of this issue. She calls it a major problem that medics are not given room to refuse cooperation on abortion on the grounds of their conscience.
During the debate on liberalising the abortion law earlier last year, the Christian Democrats received support from the Finns Party with their dissenting vote. And around LGBT-related issues, too, the two parties find common ground. Regarding euthanasia, however, opinions differ: the Finns Party promotes euthanasia.
Acquittal
Räsänen gained international publicity after she went on trial for hate speech against homosexuals. This week marked the one-year anniversary of her acquittal on all counts. However, the public prosecutor appealed the acquittal. This trial will take place at the end of August.
Despite its international prominence, this ongoing legal battle is not an issue in Finnish elections, says Räsänen. Yet freedom of expression remains a topic of discussion in Finland, according to the politician. A 12-year-old boy recently wrote on a school assignment that there are only two genders. The school then banned the boy from handing in that assignment, saying it was discriminatory. "That led to a lot of public discussion about whether children have the right to say what they think," says Räsänen.
Church
For 63-year-old Räsänen, it is the eighth election cycle. Whether this one will be her last, she does not know. "I am mostly busy campaigning and don't know what the situation will be like in four years," she says. However, she is still very motivated to make her voice heard in the Eduskunta after all these years. "I have always felt I have a calling there," she says.
For Räsänen, next Sunday is largely a rest day like any other. "I hope to go to church with my husband and do some more cross-country skiing," she says. Räsänen is a lover of this sport on skis; she skis about 1000 kilometres every year, and in corona time, that distance increased to 3,000 kilometres. "I try to cross-country ski every day, as long as there is enough snow. That will be the case for a few more weeks."
Räsänen deliberately did not campaign on Sundays. She tried to keep these days sanctified. "Only next Sunday evening will be different from other Sundays; together with my campaign team, we will follow the election results. And then it's in God's hands what happens."
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