Member of the Left Alliance Juho Kautto has announced his resignation as chairman of Äänekoski City Council at a remote meeting held last week after “confusing” behavior on Tuesday.
Kautto’s behavior had caused concern for his health with Ilta-Sanomat reportage (actual speech in Finnish) that the vice-chairman had to cancel the meeting due to an error.
"Now that I have had during the Easter quiet time to think about this, I have come to the conclusion that a responsible task is to give up the office of Chairman. I will now focus on my role as a Member of Parliament," Kautto said in a press release.
The Council meeting had to be suspended due to Kautto’s unclear speech and inability to perform his duties. He had used alcohol during the meeting and was intoxicated for that reason.
"I’m sorry and I apologize for my actions. My behavior is wrong towards other members of the Council and voters. It is an embarrassing situation, but what is done is done," he said.
Kautto also noted that the incident made him realize he needed help, and he has already sought help through occupational health.
"Some problems have developed while working remotely, and I treated them with alcohol. Maybe this unfortunate case was needed for me to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation, ”Kautto wrote.
Chairman of the Äänekoski Left Alliance Council Group Matti Virtanen said Kautton ‘s decision to resign is surprising but understandable.
"I understand that he wants to take responsibility for his actions. I didn’t expect this, but this is life. We are facing a new situation and we need to move forward. I hope Juho recovers. He maintains the trust of our group and myself. We want to be supportive," Virtanen said and added that the party council group intends to discuss the case in the coming days.
Kautto added that the Left Alliance had given him his full support, but he does not want to comment further at this stage.
Source: The Nordic Page