Marin Cabinet
The cabinet of Sanna Marin is the incumbent 76th government of Finland. It was formed following the collapse of the Rinne Cabinet and officially took office on 10 December 2019.[1][2] The cabinet consists of a coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance, and the Swedish People's Party.[3]
Marin Cabinet | |
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![]() 76th Cabinet of Finland | |
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Date formed | 10 December 2019 |
People and organisations | |
Head of state | Sauli Niinistö |
Head of government | Sanna Marin |
No. of ministers | 19 |
Member parties | Social Democratic Party Centre Party Green League Left Alliance Swedish People's Party |
Opposition parties | Finns Party National Coalition Party Christian Democrats Movement Now |
History | |
Election(s) | 2019 |
Predecessor | Rinne Cabinet |
Ministers
![](../I/Sanna_Marin's_cabinet_19.12.2019.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Marinin_hallituksen_nimitys_10.12.2019_(49199271691).jpg.webp)
There are a total of 19 ministers in Marin's cabinet: seven ministers from the Social Democratic Party, five from the Centre Party, three from the Green League, and two each from the Left Alliance and Swedish People's Party.[4]
The composition mostly resembles that of the preceding Rinne Cabinet, although the former prime minister, Antti Rinne, does not have a position in the new government.[5] The leader of the Centre Party, Katri Kulmuni, exchanged her Rinne-era portfolio as the Minister of Economic Affairs for the combined position of the Minister of Finance and the Minister deputising for the Prime Minister, switching places with Mika Lintilä.[5] The latter portfolio carries significant veto power over government finances, and its holder is effectively the government's second-in-command. This transfer solidified Kulmuni's position as the leader of the Centre Party – a position which she had assumed only three months before the formation of Marin's government.[6] Sirpa Paatero, the Social Democratic minister previously responsible for local government and ownership steering, was readmitted into the government despite her resignation from the Rinne Cabinet just days before.[5] Ownership steering responsibilities were given to Tytti Tuppurainen, the Minister of European Affairs. SDP's Tuula Haatainen, the only new minister in Marin's government, took over as the Minister of Employment from Timo Harakka, and Harakka was given Sanna Marin's former portfolio of the Minister of Transport and Communications.[5] All other portfolios were unchanged.[5] The portfolio assignments as of September 2020 were:[4][7]
Controversies
Gender balance
When the Marin Cabinet was formed, professor Anne Holli, a political scientist at the University of Helsinki, pointed out that the cabinet was deviating from the principle of gender equality, specifically the Finnish convention of each gender being represented by at least 40% of ministers: with 12 of the 19 ministers women, men accounted for only 37%.[9][10] Prime Minister Marin responded to the criticism by explaining that with five parties in the coalition, and each party responsible for their own ministerial nominations, it was not always possible to coordinate things to the extent of ensuring gender balance.[11]
Repatriation of Al-Hawl refugees
On 11 December 2019, all opposition parties filed a motion leading to a vote of no-confidence over repatriation of Finnish women and children from the Syrian Al-Hawl refugee camp. The motion followed criticism over the evasive statements on the issue by the government and the accusations that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto had supplied inaccurate information to the Parliament.[12] Haavisto had rejected assertions that detailed plans existed to bring Finnish citizens home, while Finnish national broadcasting company Yle broke news about official documents stating otherwise.[13] Haavisto was also accused of pushing through a plan to bring the children back to Finland without their mothers' consent by sidelining a top ministry official in the process.[14]
On 14 December 2019, Iltalehti released results of a survey in which 53% of people deemed Haavisto's actions wrong, while 32% saw them correct and 16% were unsure.[15]
On 18 December 2019, the parliament voted 110–79 in favor of Haavisto's confidence.[16] On the following day, 10 MPs filed a notion to the Constitutional Law Committee to request an inspection into the actions of Haavisto.[17] On 19 February 2020, the Constitutional Law Committee announced that it was requesting the Prosecutor General to start a preliminary investigation into Haavisto's actions.[18]
Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni was further criticized over an Instagram poll, in which she asked whether to evacuate "children only" or "children and mothers" from the camp.[19] After the post was panned by the public and representatives of human rights organizations, Kulmuni deleted the poll and apologized.[20]
Politics
Citizens' initiatives
A citizens' initiative advocating the implementation of an aviation tax was made in February 2020 during Marin Cabinet.[21] Greenhouse gas emissions of construction and aviation are not taxed in Finland. The Swedish aviation emissions are in total approximately equal to the emissions from the Swedish passenger vehicle traffic.[22][23]
Ministry of Finance studied the taxation of capital gains from Finland in emigration. In Feb 2020 tax was in place e.g. in Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.[24]
References
- Lemola, Johanna & Specia, Megan (10 December 2019). "Who Is Sanna Marin, Finland's 34-Year-Old Prime Minister?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2020.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- Specia, Megan (10 December 2019). "Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2020.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- "Kaatuneen hallituksen kaikki puolueet halukkaita jatkoon samalla hallitusohjelmalla – vanhan opposition puolueet eivät hyväksy ohjelmaa". Savon Sanomat (in Finnish). 7 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- "Tässä ovat Marinin hallituksen ministerit – joukko äänikuningattaria, pikapaluun tekijä, maailman nuorin pääministeri" (in Finnish). Yle. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- "Familiar faces in Finland's new government". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- "Katri Kulmuni on keskustan uusi puheenjohtaja: "Nyt alkaa työt, keskusta ei voi olla 10 prosentin puolue" – Yle seurasi Kouvolan puoluekokousta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- "Ministers". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- "Ex-PM Matti Vanhanen is Finland's new Finance Minister". 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- Holli, Anne. "Marin's Government deviated from the principle of gender equality". University of Helsinki. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Marinin hallitus lipesi tasa-arvon periaatteesta" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Naisvaltainen hallitus on livennyt tasa-arvolain periaatteesta, sanoi professori – Näin kommentoi huolta pääministeri Marin" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Marin government facing opposition call for no-confidence vote". Yle. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- "Yle sources: Foreign Ministry prepped plan for Finns who wanted to leave al-Hol refugee camp". Yle. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- "Timeline: The foreign ministry flap over repatriating Finns from al-Hol refugee camp". Yle. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- "IL-kysely: Enemmistö suomalaisista tyrmää Pekka Haaviston toiminnan al-Hol -kohussa". Iltalehti. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "Ulkoministeri Pekka Haavisto sai eduskunnan luottamuksen – katso miten edustajat äänestivät". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-12-23.
- Kinnunen, Pekka (19 December 2019). "Pekka Haaviston toimista al-Holin leirin suomalaisten asiassa muistutus perustuslakivaliokunnalle" [Pekka Haaviston gives a reminder to the Constitutional Committee regarding the action taken on the Finns in the al-Hol camp]. YLE.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 February 2020.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- "FM Haavisto faces prosecutor investigation over al-Hol". Yle News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Kauranen, Anne (13 December 2019). "'Seriously, Finland?' Red-Faced Minister Deletes Instagram Poll". Reuters.com. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- "Katri Kulmuni pyysi anteeksi Instagram-kyselyään al-Holin leiriläisistä – Ehti herättää laajaa arvostelua: "Ihan oikeasti, Suomi?" kysyi ihmisoikeusjärjestö". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- Kansalaisaloite matkustajakohtaisesta lentoverosta luovutettiin eduskunnalle – "Lentäminen on aivan liian halpaa" YLE 12.2.2020
- Measuring greenhouse gas emissions from international air travel of a country’s residents methodological development and application for Sweden Jörgen Larsson, Anneli Kamba, Jonas Nässéna and Jonas Åkermanb, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 72: 137-144
- Climate footprint from Swedish residents’ air travel Anneli Kamb and Jörgen Larsson Chalmers Göteborg, February 2019
- Selvitys luonnollisten henkilöiden maastapoistumisverosta Suomessa asumisaikana kertyneen omaisuuden realisoitumattoman arvonnousun verotus maastamuuttotilanteessa Feb 2020
Preceded by Antti Rinne's cabinet |
Sanna Marin's cabinet 2019 — |
Succeeded by Incumbent |