A poll published in the daily Helsingin Sanomat suggests rumblings of discontent with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo within the ranks of his own National Coalition Party (NCP).
The vast majority of NCP supporters – 76 percent – expressed the wish that Orpo would face a challenger at the party's annual conference next June. Only 44 percent said that Orpo should carry on as party leader.
According to the HS survey, the most popular candidate to replace him would be Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, slightly ahead of Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen. The NCP is the only major Finnish political party has never had a female leader.
Orpo is in his fifth term as party leader and says he's committed to continuing as prime minister until the end of the government's term in the spring of 2027.
By next summer, Orpo will have led the party for a decade, having taken over in June 2016 from Alexander Stubb, who last year became Finland's president.
Bargain-hunters await evening discount hours
The Vaasa-based provincial paper Ilkka-Pohjalainen reports on grocery shops' late-evening discount practices. After a certain time of day, many Finnish stores double the discount on perishable goods that are nearing their best-by date and are marked with 30-percent-off stickers. However, as more shoppers seek out bargains, some retailers have pushed the start time for the evening 'happy hour' back further. For instance, Minimani shops have changed it from 8 pm to 10 pm, an hour before closing time.
Minimani Commercial Director Jani Havisto tells the paper that retailers have developed better systems to ensure they aren't stuck with unsellable perishable products such as fish, meat, readymade meals and baked goods.
"They have developed enormously. It has been a major revolution. We have reduced waste a lot. If there is anything left, it is sold in the last hour," he says. Whatever is left after that is donated.
Havisto acknowledges that there are "quite a few" customers who collect products in their carts early and then wait for the double sale to start.
According to Tomi Nordin, who runs at a K-Citymarket in Vaasa, "the entire food industry is striving to make losses as low as possible. They've been gradually decreasing year after year". The UN estimates that food loss and waste account for 8-10 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
When Nordin started as a retailer 15 years ago, he decided to offer a 50 percent discount on yellow-labelled products, which is still in effect today.
The local Prisma uses 30 percent discount stickers, which double to 60 percent off between 8 and 11pm.
Black Friday brings out the grifters
Finally, a word to the wise bargain-hunter from the tabloid Iltalehti. It conveys a warning from Finland's biggest financial group, OP-Pohjola, that scam artists typically become more active during the Black Friday sales period.
The paper advises shoppers to beware of fraudulent online store that may look like well-known, trusted web-shops. These fake sites may be used to phish for bank credentials or to get consumers to make payments for products that aren’t actually available.
"Consumers should therefore exercise discretion and patience when shopping so that Black Friday does not become a 'black fraud day'," says Harri Nummela, OP's head of retail banking.
And by the way, OP also warns that there will be extensive interruptions in its digital services this weekend due to maintenance, with many services unavailable from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. Basic payments should function normally – as long as they're to legitimate suppliers.
