Minister responsible for ownership steering Jyri Häkämies: State-owned companies should not take part in election funding in the future

Finland's National Audit Office conducted a review on the election and political party funding provided by state enterprises and companies under the State’s control between the period 2006-2009. As for state-owned companies, Jyri Häkämies, Minister responsible for ownership steering, states the following:

“It is good that this issue is made transparent. I have, in a previous statement, made clear that state-owned companies should not take part in this sort of funding in the future.”

“The report by the National Audit Office of Finland shows that the role of state-owned companies in party funding has been minor, and the Audit Office has not identified any shortcomings. The companies have followed the normal good decision-making practice.”

“As far as the present electoral period is concerned, the clear statements provided by the Prime Minister and myself serve as sufficient guidelines.”

“The State arranges funding for the activities of political parties following common practices equal to all. For this reason, it is not a matter that state-owned companies need to be engaged in."

Further information: Petri Vihervuori, Senior Communications Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 40 487 2623