by Andre Coelho | Jun 6, 2015 | News
Local Finnish authorities at Åland, a Swedish speaking archipelago between Finland and Sweden mainland, are considering, within their territory, the creation of a special fiscal zone where basic income-like social experiments could be performed. The Åland Office of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland presently manages conditional basic income benefits for locals, but could be on the brink of taking the next bold step of turning these benefit schemes entirely unconditional.
The recently elected Center Party, which is presently the most represented party in the Finnish Parliament and supporter of Basic Income, is willing to regionally experiment its implementation. That is why Sonja Nordenswan, activist in basic income support group BINK – basinkomst Åland (Åland basic income), is confident about the possibilities of this government actually moving forward with this projet.
Anna Wiksten, Sonja Nordenswan, Erica Scott. Foto: Tomas Tornefjell.
In a recent radio program from Åland local radio and TV network RTV, Sonja Nordenswan has also referred to a possible 1000 € per month basic income, which could replace most of present day state funded benefits, such as social security, unemployment benefits and tax credits. These and other aspects were debated at this radio venue, organized by ABF, an Åland based association of workers focused on learning processes, training and culture.
More information at:
Åland Office of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, 2015
In Finnish:
Tomas Torre Fjell, “Åland as a testing field for Basic Income [Åland testområde för basinkomst]“, RTV Åland radio/tv, May 25, 2015
Liam Upton, “FINLAND: Pro-Basic Income Centre Party wins election“, April 20, 2015
Credit picture CC ehrenbergkommunikation
by BIEN Finland | Apr 25, 2015 | News
52,5% of newly elected members of the Finnish Parliament support the idea of basic income, BIEN Finland says.
52,5 % of the new Finnish members of parliament agree fully or partially with the concept of basic income, Finland’s Basic Income Network (BIEN Finland) concluded after reviewing the pre-election poll conducted by the national broadcasting company YLE. The poll asked MP candidates if they agreed on this statement: “Finland should implement a basic income scheme that would replace the current minimum level of social security.”
30 MPs were in full agreement with the statement while 75 MPs agreed partially with it. Only 18 fully disagreed with it and six did not reply. Basic income supporters can be found in all parliamentary groups.
In the agrarian centre-right Centre Party, which just won the general elections held 19 April, five MPs of all 49 fully agreed with the statement and 35 partially agreed with it. Within the nationalist Finns party, which is currently the second largest party with 38 seats, one MP fully agreed and 21 partially agreed with the statement. All 15 MPs from the Green League, which became the fifth largest party after gaining five new seats, agreed with the statement. In the Left Alliance, which after losing two seats is the sixth largest party, eight MPs fully agreed with the statement and the remaining four partially agreed with it.
The Centre Party has proposed regional basic income pilots but it does not have a clear stance on the issue as such. The party has also expressed willingness to cut the Finnish public sector by 2,3 billion euros. The government-forming negotiations have already begun and the new government is expected to take office in early May. If the Greens enter the new government with the Centre Party the experiments would become very likely.
Simo Ruottinen & Johanna Perkiö
More:
Johanna Perkiö, “Finland: the opposition leader proposes Basic Income pilots”, Basic Income News, 9 October 2014
Stanislas Jourdan, “Finnish Green Party updates its Basic Income policy”, Basic Income News, 17 February 2015
Stanislas Jourdan, “Finland: 65% of parliamentary candidates favour Basic Income”, Basic Income News, 12 March 2015
Liam Upton, ”FINLAND: Pro-Basic Income Centre Party wins election” Basic Income News, 20 April 2015
Credit picture: CC NMK Photographs
by Liam Upton | Apr 20, 2015 | News
The Centre Party, a party which is in support of Basic Income, will become the largest party in the Finnish parliament, after winning yesterday’s election.
They received 21% of the vote with 99% of votes counted. Other Basic Income-supporting parties, the Green League and the Left Alliance were on 8% and 7% respectively. This is a big gain for both the Centre Party and the Green League but is a reduction in support for the Left Alliance. The second and third biggest parties respectively were the conservative NCP party and the populist True Finns. As a result, the Centre Party is predicted to form a ruling coalition with these two parties.
While the Centre Party has come out in support of Basic Income, it is not certain where these other two parties lie on the issue and whether we would see some movement on Basic Income with these parties in government. The leader of the NCP and former prime minister, Alexander Stubb has expressed his support for Basic Income in parliament, however, the policy is not mentioned in his party’s manifesto. The True Finns have made no statements about the policy.
In a recent poll of candidates for the election by state news organisation YLE, 57% of NCP candidates were opposed to Basic Income while 87% of Centre Party respondents and 57% of True Finns respondents were in favour.
Though this coalition is more likely, a centre-left coalition with the Social Democratic Party (16.5%), the Greens and the Left Alliance is also a possibility. The Greens and Left Alliance already favour Basic Income and while it is not part of the SDP’s platform, 53% of their candidates are in favour according to the above-mentioned poll.
A public opinion poll on the issue earlier this year by a think tank associated with the Centre Party showed 79% of the public in favour of Basic Income.
For more information, see:
YLE, “Polls close in Finnish election“, YLE, 19 April 2015
Johanna Perkiio, “Finland: the opposition leader proposes Basic Income pilots”, Basic Income News, 9 October 2014
Stanislas Jourdan, “Finnish Green Party updates its Basic Income policy”, Basic Income News, 17 February 2015
Stanislas Jourdan, “Finland: 65% of parliamentary candidates favour Basic Income”, Basic Income News, 12 March 2015
by Stanislas Jourdan | Mar 12, 2015 | News
A vast majority of candidates running the next parliamentary elections in Finland said they agree with the principle of the basic income, reveals national media.
With contribution from Johanna Perkiö
As the general elections are approaching, the idea of basic income just breached an unprecedented milestone in Finland, with nearly 65.5% of all parliamentary candidates publicly supporting the policy.
The report released by national media YLE is based on direct answers from candidates collected through an online platform launched. 1,642 running candidates participated – for a total of nearly 2,000. Among other questions, candidates were asked if they agree with the following statement: “Finland should implement a basic income scheme that would replace the current minimum level of social security.”
Without surprise, the Greens candidates are the most favorable to the policy (99%), followed by the Left Alliance candidates (95%) and the Center (83%). Significant support is also found among the nationalist party ‘True Finns’ (57%) and the Swedish People’s Party (53%).
Altogether, political parties committed to basic income could virtually represent between 40 and 60% of the votes – theoretically enough to form a government.
On the other side, opponents to basic income are the Social Democratic Party (80% of their candidates), the Conservative Party (67%) and the Christian Democrats (57%).
A wave of new political support for basic income has emerged last autumn when the opposition leader proposed to experiment basic income with pilots projects. According to a recent opinion poll, 70% of Finns endorse basic income.
The next parliamentary elections in Finland will take place on April 19th. It seems the opportunity for introducing basic income pilots in Finland – and Europe – have never been so close.
Credit picture: CC hugovk
by Stanislas Jourdan | Feb 17, 2015 | News
Ahead of the next general elections in April, the Green Party of Finland has reiterated its support for a basic income policy and updated its model.
Last saturday, the board of the Green league (Finnish Green Party) presented its political platform for the next general elections, which included a proposal for a basic income in Finland.
In line with the current level of social security systems in Finland, the party has estimated the level of basic income at 560€ for all adults. It would replace most of the existing minimum social benefits such as the unemployment benefit and the minimum parental allowance. The party, who supports basic income for a long time already, has updated its model and has made the details available on its website.
The program was adopted last sunday at the Party’s general meeting.
79% of Finns support a basic income policy
Basic income is becoming a uniting topic in Finland. A recent public opinion poll conducted by e2, the think tank of the Finnish Centre Party and the market research company Taloustutkimus. The survey concluded that 79% of Finns support a basic income policy if it “guarantees minimum subsistence, reduces bureaucracy and encourages work and entrepreneurship”. 1268 people replied the poll. The support was highest among young age groups and pensioners. Voters of the Green Party and the Left Alliance are also the most strong supporters for basic income. The lowest support for the policy is found among the Christian Democrat party and the farmers.
During the national citizens’ initiative for basic income in 2013, another opinion poll showed that 54% of the Finns supported basic income. This could confirm a positive evolution of the public support for basic income, however the question was formulated in a different way, which may explain the difference.
The Green League of Finland is the fifth political force in Finland, with around 8% of voters set to back the party, according to recent electoral polls. The centrists party of Finland, which is also in favor of basic income pilots, currently leads the electoral polls with 25.4% of votes intentions. It has won a lot of public support recently.
Last september, the leader of the Centre party has pushed the idea of basic income pilots in several municipalities. The proposal was immediately backed by the Greens, the Left Alliance and even by some conservatives such as Alexander Stubb, prime minister and leader of the National Coalition Party (conservatives).
The parliamentary elections will take place on April 19th.
