Finland Times

 

Seppo Tiitinen. File Photo Lehtikuva.

Parliamentary secretary general Seppo Tiitinen in an interview on Saturday said that the debate on reducing the number of lawmakers is pure populism. 

 

The issue is raised on a regular basis, but at the end, there is no change to the number of ministers, which always settles around 200, Tiitinen said in the interview with YLE Ykkösaamu (YLE breakfast programme).

 

"Finland's relatively sparse population is spread out over a large region, and the system was intended to ensure that the opinions and ideas of different geographical and political groups are given the opportunity to be heard. One catalyst behind this idea was that both Finnish and Swedish speakers should be given fair representation. Thus far, it has worked relatively well," Tiitinen observed.

 

He also disagrees with any changes to the salaries of MPs.

 

"Right now we have a relatively well-functioning system for determining the remuneration of MP salaries. Often the spirit of these talks is that the best salary for an MP is no salary at all," he added