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Leading politicians in Finland have expressed outrage after former prime minister Juha Sipilä was assaulted outside the country's Parliament building
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- Published
- Jan 13 2021
I despise Juha Sipilä, but this is not how we behave when we disagree.
Not finnish, but Wikipedia suggests he is a right-winger cosplaying as a centrist:
Pretty much. He also is pretty famous for using his position in public office to make his friends, family and the laestadian community in his voting area rich.
I for one was a student when Sipilä's government had just taken office, and I got to experience the education cuts first hand. And from what I hear the following years have been even worse in terms of students' income in comparison to their living expenses.
For context, in Finland students get "basic income". The amount is tied to their cost of living (province and/or rent, mostly). Cost of living has steadily gone up, and the income students receive has gone down. Most students work a job on the side while they study, but there's a cap on how much you can earn a year without it affecting your basic income. That amount has decreased, iirc. It's always been too low, and a pretty flawed system to begin with.
The student income was about 550 euros / month in 2010 for me after taxes and all. My rent for a 32 square meter one bedroom apartment was around 350 euros, because I studied in a smaller city. I planned ahead on how much freelance web design work I could do without affecting my student income, which in turn I feel like slowed my career development down.
What is your impression, so far, of Marin? A quick skim of Wikipedia suggests she leans Left, but it doesn't actually say anything about her policies or positions.
I've covered my thoughts on Marin here before, but I do like her. She inherited a bit of a mess of a government, and then covid happened. I'd say she has done about as well as anyone could reasonably be expected to perform under these extraordinarily challenging times. She is a charismatic, somewhat stoic leader who sometimes ruffles feathers by being a bit blunt, and because of her alliance with her good friend and fellow minister Kiuru, who is a stubborn but effective politician.
I'm sure they're already getting a stern talking to.
America is not the nation we want to follow in terms of their political landscape and.. well.. you know, education, justice system, wealth inequality, health care, shootings and attempted coups for starters.