Picture: Inside the Parliament of Finland with Peter Ostman, chairman of the Christian Democratic Parliamentary Group.
Finland has been ruled by coalition governments since independence in 1917, a period of nearly 100 years. Its continuity has allowed a diversity of ideas to thrive and helped the country punch well above its weight (it has a population of 5.4 million, roughly similar to Singapore’s). International studies often define Finland as the “least corrupt” and “least failed” state in the world (as its minister of European affairs and foreign trade Alexander Stubb would remind us). It is also a world leader in many different fields, for example, educational syatem, Nokia and Angry Birds.
Early this week in Helsinki, I met up with Peter Ostman, chairman of the Christian Democratic Parliamentary Group. He explained why the country is stable despite having six different political parties coming together. All parties agree on the core welfare state, so there was no major policy difference. They are well balanced between the left and the right, so there are no extremes of policy and each has to accommodate the views of the others. His party is a junior partner with 6 MPs but has the interior ministry. It decided to join the government in 2011 after 18 years in Parliament because “it is fed up with making suggestions that do not get accepted” and “they want to take responsibility for decisions made”.
Tan Jee Say
* Jee Say was a Presidential candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election. The article first appeared on his facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TanJeeSay.