Comment “The problems are deep” – The Greens are in crisis, but the party’s curiosity Jaakko Mustakallio has its own solution

On the greens is a place to look in the mirror, wrote the former vice-president of the Greens Jaakko Mustakallio last week on his blog and On Twitter.

And I think it was at least partly wrong. But let’s get back to that point. Let’s repeat the facts first.

The result of the Greens’ regional election was poor. And it didn’t go well in last summer’s municipal elections either.

So the Greens are in crisis.

It has become clear in recent days, as quite a few columns have been written on newspapers on the subject. The greens themselves have excelled in this, as the greens know how to self-whip – some even seem to really like it.

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Read more: The regional elections deepened the difficulties of the Greens

Best a veteran politician excelled in criticizing his own, as I always guess Osmo Soininvaara, which on his blog gave the Greens a full-fledged.

Soininvaara drew attention to the fact that the share of leftists in the Greens has risen in recent years. However, he said the reason is not that the number of leftists in the party has risen.

“The others have just disappeared,” Soininvaara wrote.

According to Soininvaara, however, the problem is not the party’s “leftist” image – but the emptiness of that image.

“We are leftists on an emotional level, but there is no workable program to achieve these goals,” Soininvaara wrote.

According to Soininvaara, the problem of “vulgar leftism” is “a kind of naivety”. One does not dare to talk about difficult things, but “bakes it under a strange dreamlessness”.

So voters are considered more stupid than they are. And if someone finds others stupid, they’ll probably feel smarter than the others themselves.

Indulgence is the trait most often blamed on the Greens.

Thus, green politicians could very well have a place to look in the mirror. As Jaakko Mustakallio put it.

However, the desire for a mirror is funny in the sense that the viewer only sees himself in the mirror. So it could be good for the Greens to look at things a little more broadly outside of themselves and their own small circle.

Jaakko Mustakallio contacted me last week and suggested an interview about himself.

Whatever it was, I was inches, even though the mirror comparison was clumsy.

Mustakallio was the rake of the Greens in the regional elections.

He received 1,928 votes in Pirkanmaa. That was 500 votes more than what the interim chairman of the Greens did Iiris Suomela received from the same welfare area.

Besides, Mustakallio is a man who already has a certain curiosity value in the green itself. As many as 77 of the 90 green regional commissioners elected in the regional elections were women.

“I’m a reserve lieutenant playing the violin and I play football,” Mustakallio says on the phone. As such, it is difficult to see the significance of military rank or hobbies in regional election analysis. But apparently Mustakallio brings these up because he wants to explain who he is. And at the same time wants to stand out from the green.

You can see from the election machinethat Mustakallio is not particularly right-wing. But he is still not at the bottom left of the value chart, where almost all the Greens’ current MPs can be found.

34 years old Mustakallio has a master’s degree in economics. He works as a leading responsibility expert at Ellun kanat communications agency. Mustakallio is also the Vice Chairman of Tampere City Council. He served for two years as vice chairman of the Greens, but was not granted a continuation at the fall 2021 party convention.

The third distinguishing factor is that Mustakallio is not from Kallio in Helsinki. This in itself is to be assumed, as Helsinki did not participate in the regional elections. Thus, there were no Rocky people as candidates in the election.

However, Mustakallio explains that the Kallio bubble is a broader concept than just the geographical postcode area 00530. Someone can be a member of the Kallio bubble, even if they live in Tampere or elsewhere in Finland.

According to Mustakallio, the rock bubble refers to the Helsinki core group of Greens. Its views often differ from those of the rest of Finland’s Greens.

Helsinki is home to a more educated and liberal population than the average population. In other parties, too, representatives of the capital stand out from the rest of the party. In the Greens, however, the people of Helsinki are mainstream.

There is a rift in that. And that, according to Mustakallio, is one explanation for the difficulties of the Greens.

“It’s not enough to make cosmetic changes. The problems are much deeper, ”he says.

Mustakallio has summarized his analysis into five themes.

When Mustakallio starts to go through them, it becomes clear that in fact he does not want the Greens to curl up in front of the mirror to stare at his self-image.

Instead, Mustakallio would like the party to have a much higher ceiling and lighter walls.

Here are Mustakallio’s theses:

1. Come as you are

In the green according to Mustakallio, the culture of the small party has turned inwards. For a party to grow big, culture should also change. “We should be a people’s movement that welcomes people with open arms,” he says.

That is not what he says at the moment.

Mustakallio estimates that the basic values ​​of the Greens are the defense of the welfare state, the protection of nature and the indivisible dignity of which the majority of Finns sign. So there would definitely be newcomers to the party.

But for some reason there is a single line of truth in green culture. In addition to the basic values, a whole bunch of other things should be signed, starting with lifestyle choices and way of speaking. Accepting a whole philosophy of life with all its nuances can be really difficult.

And if you’re not ready to sign everything, the party’s culture may feel repulsive and foreign, according to Mustakallio.

“We in the green should have a tolerance for diversity,” Mustakallio says.

Does this mean, then, that if a citizen is interested in, for example, the restoration and protection of a nearby river, he should at the same time sign the way of speaking intersectional feminism when he goes out to the Greens?

“Somehow,” Mustakallio admits. Although a little confused about the question.

“Of course, a common world of values ​​must be shared. But it is not essential for everyone to know all the terms of academic feminism. Goodwill is needed in discussions and understanding of others. Not everyone has to think the same way about everything. Even if you respect the opinions of others, you don’t have to agree on everything. ”

“We should be able to invite people as they are. The Greens need bubbles to burst and cross-pollinate in order for cultural transformation into a big party to succeed. ”

2. The party with the best argument

Mustakallion according to the Greens has traditionally been described as being a “party of the best argument”.

“It has fascinated me in the green from the beginning,” says Mustakallio.

By this he means that the Greens trust science. And that attempts have always been made to form political positions on the basis of the best information available. So knowledge has tried to build a better world.

Mustakallio says he has recently been thinking that the Greens often seem to be the best argument instead. the party of the best identity.

“What’s exciting about green is how much people admire people who have a sustainable lifestyle. Admire the people who cycle in summers and winters and take a cold shower. While it is said that the big picture is important, there is a huge amount of admiration for people with the lowest possible personal carbon footprint. ”

Thus, according to Mustakallio, the Greens easily forget that the opportunities to live in different parts of Finland are very different. The Greens should better accept that a sustainable life can be lived in different ways and in different life situations.

While personal solutions matter, according to Mustakallio, it is worrying if admiration for an individual’s choices goes too far. However, politics should be about making big societal systemic changes.

It needs information and a broad vision. Not just winter biking and cold showers for individuals.

3. Politics is a business of confidence

“Government policy more stuff is needed, ”says Mustakallio. In politics, trust is important. And it can also be easily lost. Green achievement list Sanna Marinin (sd) the board is not very long.

Mustakallio begins to list: There are a lot of good plans on climate issues, but there has been little concrete. The therapy guarantee is completely stuck. The Greens have actively promoted short-distance rail transport across Finland, but VR is currently scrapping the commuter trains needed for it. The burning of peat continues. People are being deported to dangerous countries. There are problems with police investigations into sexual offenses.

“Performing artists, restaurant workers, students – do they feel that the Greens have defended them and their way of life during the Corona?” Mustakallio asks and answers himself.

“We haven’t had a clear role in these core support groups at any point during the government term. It has not been possible to put enough against the hard. ”

4. Finns are united by more than one thing

Mustakallion according to the Greens should not take gender as a dividing line. In Germany, for example, the main reason for the Greens’ election victory was that the party there received steady support from both men and women.

“We should think about how we can address all genders better and get support. If the female assumptions are just what is being sought, the roof will be easily met. We should aim for all Finns, everywhere in Finland. ”

Read more: The German Greens got a new leadership that wants the party to be the leading force in the center-left

5. The Greens have remained in the role of site follower

Mustakallion according to the greens has always been the party of the future, striving to make things better tomorrow. That is why the party wants to invest in the environment, children, young people, education.

“Recently, however, we have been left in the role of a site follower. We have no longer had an initiative in the social debate, ”says Mustakallio.

According to him, the Greens should strive back on the front line.

“We need new, more interesting openings, a clearer vision and better reasoning.”

More interesting, brighter and better – easy to say, but maybe not so easy to put into practice. Jaakko Mustakallio, tell me one concrete thing, what should the Greens do right now?

“We have to go against the people stop, build the walls wider and …” he begins.

No no no! There is no promotional speech now. Concrete!

“… we need to make green themes work by piece: increase commuter trains, sustainable agriculture, nature conservation, culture and entrepreneurship. We have been valued on these themes over the years, and there is certainly enthusiasm for them. As long as we roll up our sleeves … ”

And you should definitely look in the mirror there too.