Did the leaders of Finland’s largest political parties actually stay in the interviews and debates before the local election poll on June 13? Yle continues the series of fact-finding by examining the statements of party chairmen on, among other things, immigration, employment, youth exclusion, and the government’s climate goals.
Each statement is classified as either true, false, or ‘in between’ (i.e., it was not entirely true or false), and we also include an explanation for each classification.
Yle’s English-language election compass aims to help voters find candidates whose views are closest to their own.
Halla-aho: One-third of income, recipients of housing benefits are immigrants
Opinion: "The government supports an immigration policy that results in more than a third of income and housing support customers being foreigners," Chairman of the Finnish Party Jussi Halla-aho said in interviews with Yle’s party leader (Yle’s presidency exam), 18 May.
Classification: incorrect.
Explanation: Halla-aho’s claim that one third of those receiving housing and income support in Finland are immigrants is not true.
The data provided by the state social security institution to Kela Yle show that about 15 per cent of the recipients of general housing support were immigrants in 2018, which included numerous students. In Finland, more than half a million people receive housing benefits.
In relation to income support, the proportion of immigrants who receive the benefit is higher than their share of the population. In 2018, about 20 percent of income support recipients were immigrants, but this is one-fifth of the population and not one-third, as Halla-aho noted.
According to Kela, the claim that one third of all recipients of housing benefits are immigrants can only be true in some individual municipalities.
The All Points North podcast interviewed party leaders in English during the spring. You can listen to Jussi Halla-aho’s interview via the embedded player here or through Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or a regular podcast player via an RSS feed. The article continues after the sound.
Marin: The employment pilot project was a success
Opinion: "The Ministry of Finance has estimated that the municipality’s work model has a significant impact on the labor market. I remember that, according to the Ministry of Finance, it was quite large, several thousand, even ten thousand, which means that it had a really significant impact there," Chairman and Prime Minister of the Social Democratic Party Sanna Marin said in an interview with Yle’s party leader on May 20th.
Rating: True.
Explanation: During the spring, the government launched a municipal pilot project aimed at increasing employment, in which the services and tasks of the regional TE offices were transferred from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor to the municipalities.
According to an estimate by the Ministry of Finance, the municipal project led to the finding of work for about 6,600 people, which is in line with the estimate made by Marin in his interview with the director.
It is planned to transfer employment services completely to all municipalities by 2024, when the state also intends to create a municipal funding model to promote employment.
According to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the model improves employment by matching state and municipal resources, skills and services.
Prime Minister Marin spoke about minorities, Covid restrictions and climate change, among other things, in an All Points North interview. The article continues after the sound.
Essayah: Higher unemployment rate among childless men than mothers
Opinion: "Looking at employment statistics, the employment situation for childless men is currently worse. In other words, childless men of the same age – their employment rate is lower than that of women working with children. They are at home with the support of home care, ”the leader of the Christian Democrats Sari Essayah said in an interview with Yle on May 19th.
Classification: incorrect
Explanation: According to both Kela and the Finnish Family Association, there are currently no statistics on the employment rate of mothers receiving home care support, which is a benefit paid by Kela when caring for a child under 3 years of age at home.
According to Statistics Finland, the most up-to-date information on the subject can be found in the Finnish National Agency’s Labor Force Survey 2018, according to which the employment rate of all mothers in 2018 was 77 per cent, regardless of age. child. The employment rate for childless men aged 20-59 was also the same: 77%.
The study also found that the employment rate of mothers varies according to the age of the child: 58% of mothers of children aged 1 to 2 had a job and 84% of mothers of children aged 3 to 6 had a job.
According to Kela’s statistical expert, the employment rate of mothers is in some cases lower than that of childless men, but the age groups are not fully proportional to each other.
In an interview with All Points North, Sari Essayah spoke about the interaction of her party’s values with local politics. The article continues after the sound.
Ohisalo: Finland is making progress towards achieving climate goals
Opinion: "We have taken some common goals forward during this term. Half of the measures needed to reduce emissions have already been decided," Chairman of the Green Party Maria Ohisalo Yle’s election debate on May 24.
Rating: True.
Explanation: The Finnish government has set an ambitious goal to make the country carbon neutral by 2035, and Ohisalo said during the discussion that half of the measures needed to achieve this goal have already been decided.
Markku OllikainenThe chairman of the Finnish Climate Panel tells Yle that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of the measures, but the panel can look at the emission reduction measures outlined by the government.
For example, the government has promised to at least halve the use of peat by 2030, halve traffic emissions by the same year and also reduce emissions from residential heating. The energy tax reform promotes the use of electricity as a substitute for fossil fuel emissions. In addition, the government has called on industry and agriculture to draw up emission reduction plans towards carbon neutrality.
Halving the use of peat can be achieved even in advance, which the Climate Panel estimates will significantly reduce emissions. With regard to transport emissions, the government has estimated that the reductions have already been achieved, and more effective measures are planned in the autumn. According to the Climate Panel, the effects of reducing emissions from residential heating are much more difficult to assess.
Based on the assessment of the Climate Panel, it can be argued that the government is about halfway to achieving the target. However, Ohisalo’s statement is more optimistic than the minimum estimate. However, the claim of the leader of the Green Party can be considered true.
Maria Ohisalo spoke about household money and climate change in an interview with All Points North. The article continues after the sound.
Andersson: The exclusion of young people at the same level since the turn of the century
Statement: “We have had a youth guarantee scheme designed to prevent the exclusion of young people. However, the proportion of figures without upper secondary education has remained at 15% throughout the 21st century," Chairman of the Left Alliance and Minister of Education Li Andersson spoke in a managerial interview on May 26th.
Rating: True.
Explanation: Statistics Finland’s data on the educational structure of the population support Andersson’s argument. In 2019, there were 103,166 people aged 20–29 who did not have a high school education, which is 15 percent of the age group. The data further revealed that 18 percent of men aged 20-29 and 13 percent of women did not exceed the ninth grade value.
Chief Mathematician of Statistics Finland Mika Witting confirmed to Yle that the percentage has remained at the same level throughout the 21st century.
For example, the agency’s data on people born in 1995 showed that 14 percent did not have a high school diploma in 2019, by the age of 24, of which 16 percent were men and 13 percent were women.
According to Statistics Finland, the highest educated age group in Finnish history is people born between 1975 and 1979, as 88 per cent have a university degree and 47 per cent a higher education degree.
Li Andersson told All Points North that the distribution of education between socioeconomic groups continued to grow during the pandemic. The article continues after the sound.
Source: The Nordic Page