President Niinistö has urged the government to get on with implementing their planned large-scale reforms, even if the short-term outcomes prove unpopular.
Speaking at Aalto University, Niinistö said that large-scale changes to the pensions system, health and social care and local government boundaries must be implemented, even if the benefits of the reforms do not come to light until after next spring’s general election.
The comments mark an uncharacteristic foray into domestic policy for the president, who has so far tended not to get publicly involved in the government’s work beyond the realm of foreign affairs.
Describing the reforms as “without doubt the largest thing facing [the government] at the moment,” Niinistö acknowledged that there are inherent risks in carrying out the restructuring, but said this must not be a barrier to implementing the planned changes.
”It demands courage, as the positive effects will not be seen for some time,” he said, adding that: “In other words, the government can’t always be the ones to benefit from the results of their good work.”
In his speech Niinistö also made reference to the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who in the early 2000s implemented wide-scale reforms.
”What that government achieved can now be seen in hindsight. But at the time the numbers didn't reflect those achievements. In fact, the opposite was the case. The following government was no longer Schröder’s precisely because the benefits of the reforms weren’t visible, but that next government was handed a very strong starting point. And Germany has gone on to experience the sort of growth we all admire,” Niinistö said.
