Finland’s new government was appointed on 6 June by the country’s president and is distinguished by the level of female representation, including 11 women compared to 8 men, as well as the fact that it is led by a social democrat, in the form of Antti Rinne, for the first time in 16 years. The government comprises Finland’s Social Democratic Party, Center Party, Greens, Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party of Finland. The programme agreed on by the coalition, which is more than 200 pages long, has provoked a great deal of commentary due to its highly innovative nature.
The social aspect of the coalition’s programme contains the following elements:
- A reform of the unemployment benefit system and services for the unemployed will be readied, with the aim of reducing periods of unemployment, making short-term employment more attractive, encouraging job searches and adjusting the unemployment benefits sanctions (reference periods) to create a better balance between the rights and duties of the unemployed. In particular it brings an end to a system to encourage ‘activity’ introduced by the previous government, which reduced unemployment benefits by 4.65% if the unemployed people were not sufficiently active in their job search.
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