Last week I recorded three webcam sessions for YLE vaalikone. I made them in English because I lack sufficient skills to do it in Finnish, Swedish or Sami. The videos are not published yet, but YLE is going over them with a comb. Did you write a hate speech? Did you make a commercial for a company? Etc. My flaw was that I used English in the videos. Not allowed. They send an email saying that they will remove them. I don’t know what their motive is. Does the fact that I use English make it difficult to check the content? Or would it be so that if they allow English they also should allow Russian, Estonian, Arabic or Farsi? Then it would be really difficult to check the content. Whatever the case may be, I decided to make some videos of my own. Same speech with Finnish subtitles! Look for the playlist “YLEtön vaalikone”.

I like to emphasize that I don’t like to complain too much. So far I have coped well in Finnish society with learning the language. That is to say, I understand some things, but when the conversation becomes fast and complicated I get lost. You might think that this will be a disadvantage in case I get elected. The answer to that is both yes and no. In my former work place a co-worker once noted that people were more to the point when I was present. Meetings were shorter! A short coming is that I miss something important when someone says it in Finnish. But, I intend to work my way around this handicap and turn it into something positive.

I do have ideas that I like to discuss. Ideas that I cannot turn into reality without the cooperation of others. It means that I have to work with others anyway and that is something that is mostly done outside the city hall building. This way I think I can turn my handicap into a strong point.

At the core of my thinking is the situation I see when I look at Forssa. Forssa is well located in the center of the triangle Helsinki-Turku-Tampere. You would say that this fact would give it a big advantage. However this is not the case. Instead Forssa has become a graying town whose population is declining because families with kids migrate to the cities of the triangle. The lack of a younger generation is killing this town slowly.

What is needed to stop this trend? First of all, we have to ensure that the big schools in Forssa can keep their students. If for instance the nurses education would go to Hämeenlinna for budget reasons it would be very bad for Forssa. But even when it stays here it is not enough. The nurses educated have also to find employ here. With SOTE coming that is a slim chance indeed. SOTE will lead to an oligopoly of Terveystalo, Mehilainen and some other big health care companies on the health market. They will earn big money because the health market is not transparent (people cannot compare offers because the offers are not equal). Left by themselves this will not reduce the health care costs. Is there nothing we can do about? Yes, we can! The town can ensure that the nurses who finish their studies can make their own companies. Company of one, ten or twenty nurses who operate more efficient than the big ones. That would provide more jobs.

I don’t believe in mining. I know Ring III politicians get Euro signs in their eyes when the possibility of mining is discussed, but I don’t like it. With mining the profit goes to company and the burden to society. I believe on more emphasis on the service sector. Health care is one, but there are other things we can do. I know it requires a change in thinking. After all this is an industrial town, but if this town is to survive it has to adapt.

I believe that the input of strangers like myself can help. If nothing else we can make babies. But in addition there is so much more. A different viewpoint can help. Something you haven’t thought because it was outside of your experience. That’s why I want to take part in this elections. And if encounter a problem I will solve it, because that’s what I am best at.