Basic Services Minister Aki Lindén demands that the characterless opponent take the crown seriously. The problem is that the Minister of Basic Services, Aki Lindén, is responsible for the issues that are the subject of criticism, writes Jussi Pullinen, head of the economics and politics department.
Minister Aki Lindén (sd) has been very active on social media in recent weeks.
At the beginning of July, Lindén was worried about the increased need for hospital treatment on Twitter.
“Telling this feels like ‘don’t spoil my mood,’ but it’s more reasonable to see the facts than to close your eyes to them,” the minister wrote.
According to the minister, there is someone somewhere – presumably a decision-making body – who does not take the corona pandemic seriously enough.
On the same day, Lindén asked why there are too few third vaccines for people under the age of 70.
“Does the false ‘corona is over’ atmosphere affect the matter? It’s not over,” the minister stated.
In recent days, the minister, who has been in the summer mood, has been making observations around him. He praised the corona line of the Savonlinna opera festival.
“Operajuhlat has introduced mask recommendations. Excellent decision,” Lindén wrote on Friday.
There is no general national mask recommendation – but maybe some decision-making body will notice the minister’s message and change their line.
On Monday, Lindén, on the other hand, said that he had noticed corona-related information in Germany. In the educational material, it was stated that the mask can still be worn.
“In Germany, such posters were seen in shops, hotels, etc., that is, in places where people move,” Lindén introduced.
So maybe someone who decides on education campaigns in Finland will learn from Germany’s exemplary activity.
Where is that from? the body could be found?
Finland’s corona policy is guided and coordinated by the corona ministerial group established by the government, which has a fairly broad representation of various ministers. However, the minister of family and basic services, who is the chairman of the group, is very much on guard.
Previously, Sdp worked in that position Krista Kiuru, who had enough views on the seriousness of the corona and the necessary measures. However, Kiuru stayed on maternity leave in January, so Finland now has another corona authority – someone who could influence the concerns expressed by Minister Lindén on Twitter.
Who could he appeal to?
The answer to Aki Lindén can be easily found on the government website: the Turku SDP member of parliament Aki Lindén is currently serving as minister of basic services and chairman of the group of corona ministers.
The government the background forces admit that the corona pandemic has been overshadowed by the Russian war of aggression and the NATO decision on the political agenda during the spring. This is understandable.
In Finland, there have been around 500 people still hospitalized with corona registration in the last few weeks. Chief physician of the Institute of Health and Welfare (THL). Hanna Nohynek indeed stated on Monday to HSthat only about one fifth of people with corona have come to the hospital because of corona.
On Monday, the EU health authorities announced that there is already a “new wave of infections” and that the fourth vaccine dose should therefore be given now to everyone over 60 and those in risk groups. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides urged member countries to start these vaccinations “immediately” based on the agencies’ recommendation.
No one knows for sure the variant and severity of the fall – not even in Finland, although according to the authorities, vaccinations prevent a serious disease.
So the pandemic is far from over, so maybe Lindén is just trying to wake up his government partners. But to what?
The biggest controversy there is an ongoing public debate about the timing of vaccinations.
THL wanted to wait with the fourth vaccines and their best effect closer to autumn and the worse disease situation. On the other hand, some doctors who emphasize the direct current harms of the disease demand a faster pace.
Mittelö has become a corridor in the slopes medical dogma argument. In that, Lindén has mostly sided with doctors and EU institutions operating on the precautionary principle.
A citizen in the eyes, however, the whole is confused. What should you really expect from autumn? What measures does Finland take and in what order when the disease situation worsens again?
The government’s task is to form this overall picture based on official information, make the necessary political prioritizations, coordinate actions and communicate the whole clearly to citizens and companies planning their lives.
In this situation, it seems confusing that the minister in charge of Finland’s corona measures sometimes sounds as if he is in the opposition.
Quite rare for government policy, Lindén even criticized the opposition parties on Twitter on Tuesday for not questioning the government’s corona policy actively enough.
“Finland has a squeamish opposition, which, especially during question time, grills the government if there is even the slightest reason. Between February and June, the opposition did not ask a single question about the treatment of the corona epidemic,” complained Lindén.
Inside the government Lindén’s line has also caused confusion. The group of corona ministers has gathered in the shadow of the war in Ukraine and the NATO process, and there has been no special controversy about the line.
The political power behind the severe corona restrictions seems to have waned – at least for now. A large part of the population has already experienced the corona in extensive disease waves, which affects the level of fear.
In the HS poll in the middle of June only 34 percent stated that the corona virus was at least somewhat worrying – the lowest reading since the beginning of the acute phase of the pandemic. However, the concern increased depending on how old the respondents were. Also the Government Council The citizens’ pulse survey told in mid-June, the corona worries had decreased significantly.
HS Saturday in the published interview former chief of staff who left the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in the spring Kirsi Varhila stated that even within the government, support for additional measures disappeared.
“In February, the situation changed in the social security and corona ministerial groups to the point that it was no longer possible to take measures,” Varhila said.
In Lindén’s defense it must be said that keeping the corona pandemic on display is of course also part of the role of the Minister of Basic Services.
But if the minister’s perception of the risks of the epidemic and the adequacy of the measures differs from the perception of the rest of the government and health authorities, one should not look far for someone who takes action. Mere alarmism without taking action can look like scoring political points or securing one’s own position.
Opposition politics belong to the opposition. The formation of Finland’s corona line, coordination and clear communication of the future outlook to citizens, on the other hand, belongs to the government.
It won’t work if the minister responsible for the line is in the opposition at the same time.
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