Regional elections “The election showed that the center is not dead” – Northern Ostrobothnia has an area where half of those who went to the polls voted for the center

“Center is doing well in our village because its support is so high here, ”estimates Martti Rinnekangas on Monday from the election results of their homeowner Tyrnävä.

Half of the voters in Tyrnävä near Oulu voted for the center, which contributed to the party’s election victory in Northern Ostrobothnia. The center received as many as 40 percent of the votes in the regional elections in the province, which was the party’s highest victory rate in the country.

In some municipalities in Northern Ostrobothnia, the number of votes in the city center was even higher.

Overall, the center received the most delegates in nine welfare areas, the highest of all parties. Even at the national level, it received the third highest number of votes at the level of the whole of Finland, remaining only one tenth of a percentage point away from the Social Democrats, although it did not succeed in the populous regions of southern Finland.

“Centerers went to the polls in this election. Even the basic Finns would certainly have had a better result if they had set off, ”Rinnekangas said.

He himself voted for his local candidate, but is not convinced whether the sote reform will bring any good when it comes.

“Well politicians convinced a hundred beauties and certainty about everything, but can be trusted. Doubt whether savings will be made. A considerable number of representatives have now been elected and how many ten-tonne employees will be in the administration, ”Rinnekangas thought.

Tyrnävä The electoral success of the municipality with 6,600 inhabitants was excellent in relation to the population. As many as two of the locality’s own candidates went through: a doctor Maarit Matinolli (Kok) and the former Minister of Administration and Local Government and Member of Parliament Tapani Tölli (middle).

Tölli, who retired a couple of years ago, received 2,185 votes and rose to second place in the region’s most popular. Juha Sipilän after (middle).

Tölli, 70, had had time to melt the election result overnight at his home in the middle of Tyrnävä’s potato fields, where there is plenty of space in every direction.

“A good result is very important for the city center. In a way, there was also a lack of faith inside the city center, but this result changed a lot, ”says Tölli.

Policy return – all signs are now in the direction that it is possible.

When Tölli left politics in 2019 and no longer ran for parliament, he criticizes in public that politics has become more superficial and has lost its longevity. According to Töll, decision-making capacity had also weakened.

“Now there is room for a return to policy. This would be an opportunity to build consensus and for the regional council and the entire organization to work more matter-of-factly, ”says Tölli.

Töllin sometimes it is sad to see that politics is not about things, but about something else entirely.

“Then the debate escalates, and that kind of polarization on various issues paralyzes it,” he says.

According to Töll, the constructive and factual perspective of the center showed its strength in this election.

“The election showed that the center is not dead, although the party has been predicted to be heading towards the sunset since the 1950s,” Tölli points out.

In the current government the center has often played the role of advocate, according to Töll.

“The downtown’s own view has often been left out. I think the result of the election will make the people of the center believe in themselves again, ”he says.

Tölli has thought a lot about the futility of confrontation between the Helsinki metropolitan area and the rest of Finland in Finland.

“We should be more able to see the whole country as a whole,” says Tölli.

In the regional elections many who voted for the center certainly thought of their own services.

“Perhaps many people came up with the idea that even then those downtown people think about our daily lives. The election showed how everyday services are organized, ”Tölli describes.

Tölli himself has been involved in the construction of the SOTE reform since the Best project, which began in 2006. That is why he agreed to run in the regional elections, even though he had already thought he had retired from politics.

“It is in my own interest to be doing what has been done so far. Now there is a huge chunk of work ahead this year. The elected trustees face the truth, ”Tölli describes.

The sea buckthorn Mikko Kanniainen the guiding idea in the ballot box was that social and health services would not run away from what they are now.

Kanniainen, who lives in Temmeks, Tyrnävä, has noticed that services from his own village have been gradually discontinued.

“I voted for a candidate in my municipality and the party was downtown. The center has always been voted on and it was great that the party was doing well now, ”said Kanniainen.