The national daily Helsingin Sanomat leads its domestic news with a two-page spread on the controversy surrounding the Himanen report. The 400-page report, entitled “A sustainable growth model: a global perspective,” was commissioned by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and his government for 700,000 euros. Philosopher-consultant Pekka Himanen’s co-author, Spanish professor Manuel Castells, says criticism that Himanen’s report is unacademic is partly because Finns are envious of Himanen.
The daily’s second major domestic story covers the surprise Espoo bus strike that started at 4am on Friday morning when drivers of a subsidiary of Nobina Finland walked out of the Nobina West bus depot. They said that they wouldn't return to work until Saturday morning. It is estimated that up to 30,000 people will be affected by the strike. According to Nobina’s shop steward Markus Jokikokko, the reason for the walk out is unfair working conditions, including shifts being changed at short notice. Nobina’s president and CEO Tom Ward disputes the charge.
Heading domestic news in Turku’s Turun Sanomat is a decrease in the number of ambulances in Southwestern Finland in 2014. The drop is due to a financial shortfall resulting from a decision made by the City of Turku to tender its ambulance services. It ended up costing 400,00 euros more than budgeted.
Tampere-based Aamulehti's cover includes analysis of Thursday’s decision by the European Central Bank to cut Eurozone interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a record low in a bid to stave off deflation. On a more buoyant note, the cover image is of Finnish sport aerobics champion Laura Vihervä who is on her way to the European Championships with her team.
