prime minister Sanna MarinThe Social Democratic Party (SDP) has announced its agenda ahead of the local elections in June.
Among other things, the party forum emphasizes support for those who care for sick or disabled family members at home.
In a speech on Sunday, party chairman Marin said the criteria for support for home caregivers should be harmonized across the country and that adequate funds should be set aside for family care benefits.
There are almost 50,000 caregivers in Finland who have entered into a family care agreement, and a total of about 350,000 people who care for relatives on a permanent basis.
More action to combat bullying and harassment
Marin also stressed action against bullying and violence. According to Marin, the SDP wants an anti-bullying action plan to be drawn up in each municipality and its implementation to be monitored regularly.
“Schools must be safe places for all, and harassment and bullying at leisure must also be addressed immediately, be it violence in the physical, mental or electronic world,” Marin said when he opened the party’s municipal election program in Helsinki.
Bullying and harassment affect not only children and young people but also people’s willingness to participate in municipal decision-making, Marin noted.
"Recently, we have received reports of people who have stopped politics due to inappropriate behavior in dealing with our common issues and debates. This must end. We may disagree, but everyone must be respected," Marin said.
A study published last month showed that women leaders in Finnish government parties have been the target of a hate speech campaign on social media, and warned that this could prevent women in particular from entering politics.
SDP support slips
The SDP was the last party to announce its municipal election program. Advance voting will begin just over a month and a half later on 26 May.
Yle’s latest municipal election poll, published at the beginning of April, showed that the SDP fell to third place behind the two main opposition groups, the Finnish Party and the National Coalition Party.
However, all three had support of 18-19% and the differences between them were clearly within the margin of error.
The three parties are also close to each other in parliamentary seats, the SDP has 40 seats and the two main opposition parties each have 38 seats.
Finland’s longest-serving female minister, Marin, has held office since December 2019, and became party chairman last August.