Finnish national politics — parliament, government coalitions, budget negotiations, and cross-party agreements — shapes the conditions under which local decisions are made. I write about national-level choices from the perspective of someone working at the municipal level, because that is where their practical effects become visible.
The choices in front of parliament include the debt-brake agreement, Finland’s dependence on foreign technology companies, the stable environment that brings investment, and the conditions for entrepreneurship. Spending cuts and fiscal rules are not abstract. They show up in municipal budgets across Uusimaa, in which services get funded and which get cut. As a Kirkkonummi councillor I have seen how cuts to state subsidies narrow a council’s room for manoeuvre.
Start here
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Green economic policy requires a seat at the table
Leaving the debt-brake agreement does not change the scale of fiscal adjustment — it removes the Greens from shaping how the adjustment is done.
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Stability Brings Investment, Erratic Policy Drives It Away
Google's €13 billion investment came from a functioning electricity market. A price cap would remove the price signal exactly when it is needed most.
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Finland and Finns Risk Losing Control of Their Own Data – and It Will Cost Dearly
Voter data in Amazon's cloud, tax data with Microsoft. The CLOUD Act reaches data wherever it is stored, so Finland must decide on its own digital foundation.
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A Fuel Subsidy Worth Hundreds of Millions Would Deepen Import Dependency
A VAT cut on fuel and a lower distribution obligation would cost hundreds of millions and deepen import dependency. Give the money directly to people instead.
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Who owns public sector data?
Portability in public procurement decides who owns public sector data. eVaka shows that an open, shared model survives a change of supplier.
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YEL must not raise the entrepreneurship barrier
Finland's YEL reform would scrap the new-entrepreneur discount just as AI lowers the barrier to starting a business. Three fixes that keep the barrier low.
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Data Centres Can Be Finland's Ace in International Politics
A leaked US cable exposed lobbying against data sovereignty. Data centres can be Finland’s ace in international politics, if we build them on our own terms.
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Open Source Is the Cornerstone of Digital Independence
The EU tech sovereignty package names open source as the cornerstone of digital independence. Why a closed system is a risk and open source the fix.
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Three ways to make entrepreneurship easier
A statement for Entrepreneur's Day: three ways to dismantle barriers to entrepreneurship — YEL, a fresh start after bankruptcy, and hiring the first employee.
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David's Sling Is Proof That Europe Has Failed
David's Sling was the right procurement for Finland, but it reveals the failure of Europe's defence industry. A market-green view on defence procurement.
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Running for parliament in 2027: Finland needs digital independence in the age of AI
I am running as a Green candidate in Uusimaa for the 2027 parliamentary election. My goal is a digitally independent Finland in the age of AI.
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More Markets!
Five proposals that harness the market mechanism to solve problems in transport, urban space, public procurement, and land use.
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How does it feel to be in a party where you don't have to compromise on your values?
The vaihdavihreisiin.fi campaign invites liberals and social liberals to join the Finnish Greens — the party where you don't have to compromise on your values.
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Greens – The True Defenders of the Market Economy
The market economy is the best known way to allocate resources. The Greens are its only true defender in Finland – real markets, not accountant economics.
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A cold harvest for Kirkkonummi — a weak budget
The government's mid-term session cut state subsidies and corporate tax. This significantly narrows the room for manoeuvre for local councils.
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An absolute no to upper secondary tuition fees
The government wants to place upper secondary students in unequal positions based on citizenship. Tuition fees must be opposed absolutely.
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Is education under special protection?
Education is being cut deeply, despite government claims to the contrary. Index increases and legal reforms do not cover hundreds of millions in cuts.
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One step forward, two steps back
The government is making necessary reforms to upper secondary education, but they do not compensate for €120 million cuts to vocational education.
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Cutting early childhood education funding does not pay
The government plans to cut funding for early childhood education planning. In practice the costs will simply be transferred to municipalities.
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With words we shape reality
The racism statement is an important step. Word choices matter — with words we shape reality and our relationship to difference.
Related topics
Frequently asked questions
What is the debt-brake agreement?
A parliamentary agreement in which the parties committed to consolidating public finances in the next parliamentary term. The scale is decided, but the method is not. Every future government decides how to move toward the target, and the debt brake is not a rigid requirement to cut. Parliamentary agreements are in practice the only mechanism for problems that span election cycles, such as turning around public debt. Leaving the agreement would not change the scale, only who makes the choices.
What does dependence on foreign tech companies cost Finland?
Money and control. The public sector pays substantial licence fees to American technology companies every year, and that money flows out of Finland instead of supporting Finnish jobs and expertise. Keeping data in Europe does not solve it, because the US CLOUD Act obliges American companies to hand data to US authorities regardless of where the servers sit. If a service becomes unavailable, we have no say in what happens. That is a lack of digital resilience.