The elections. One week to go.

We have our Parliamentary Elections in Finland next weekend. I have not voted yet. (= By regular mail. Unfortunately we don't have the Estonian e-vote system yet.)

But I will, sure. Mr HP, miss Funnybunny and I will walk to the school nearby, and there, write the numbers of our candidates (one per voter! But Miss F won't vote yet.), donate money to charity (there always is an elderly lady with the box right outside the voting premises), walk back home and make coffee, and drink it with warm Finnish bun. That is an ancient Finnish tradition, coffee and all.



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But how to pick the right candidate?

To get my vote:

She/he must realise even though Finland is not a superpower of any kind, this is a rich country. We can afford to help the poorest countries by release them from their debts. (And for the poorest the debt was not much of help, in the first place. But lending money has been very advantageous to the industrial world.)

She/he must not be attracted to Finland joining a military union, actively led by the moods and desires of the greedy USA. (And yes, this "Nato option" is all the time on agenda, in Finland.)

The NATO question is like a Jack-in-the-box, it jumps up time after time, even when you think the issue is discussed, buried and the box is sealed.

Also, I an very interested in energy questions. People tend to think nukes are safe and clean now, as there have been few major accidents in recent years. Luckily so. But scepticism in this matter is healthy. Save and be safe. Use renewables.

The gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea? Sosnovyi Bor, the most dangerous nuclear power plant on earth? At Sosnovyi Bor there are four old Soviet-style nuclear reactors (RBMK's), originally 1000 megawatts each. (Which is a lot.) Far-fetched or not: because of the monstrous threats the nearby nuclear installations and new industrial development (gas pipes & the WWII poison tanks in the Baltic) cause us, I am also quite interested in how many languages he/she can speak fluently. And especially, weather he/she can Russian. My candidate should. (Few in Finland can. Russian language has not been popular here after the war.) Or should at least be interested in learning. (Quite many are, nowadays.)

He/she must belong in the right party. Or, not in any of the wrong ones. (Fortunately, none of our parties faced the destiny of Yabloko.)

Last, and also least. I don't want to know anything about her/his wardrobe, about his/her dancing abilities ("Dancing With the Stars" is the biggest hit on TV), weather he can sing ("Idols" is the 2nd), about his/her ex-spouses: the last year's shag, of our newly divorced Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, just wrote a book revealing "everything" (the woman wrote, not Vanhanen). They were together about half a year. And, the unlucky love story has been all over the papers ever since. He dumped her by an SMS. Then she told the whole nation he hates garlic. See?

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If the debates on TV are too boring, do something useful. ...or just do something instead.