Centralized,Leadership, Ministerial Dominance, and Improvised Instruments: The Governance of COVID in Finland

Risto Niemikari; Tapio Raunio

doi:10.7577/nat.4888

Författare

Risto Niemikari Tampere University
Tapio Raunio Tampere University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0736-7182

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7577/nat.4888

Nyckelord:

COVID, Finland, governance, leadership, strategy

Abstract

Analyzing the governance of the COVID crisis in Finland, this article shows that in terms of organization and communication the strategy combined elements of centralized leadership, ministerial dominance, and scientific expertise. The government adopted an uncertainty avoidance approach in mid-March 2020, declaring the state of emergency and imposing strict anti-pandemic measures. The first wave of the pandemic was characterized by a sense of national urgency both in terms of policy and public opinion, which appreciated the active leadership of the government. Subsequently the government shifted to a more decentralized pandemic governance under normal legislation, with targeted regional solutions favored more instead of nation-wide measures. This produced occasional tensions between regional authorities and the government. The Prime Minister’s Office was in charge, but the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health retained most of the actual decision-making and horizontal coordination as well as governmental communication created challenges. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare was highly visible throughout the crisis, but occasionally the views of the health authorities and the executive differed.

Statistik

Laddar statistik...

Referenser

Alapuro, R. (2004). What is Western and What is Eastern in Finland? Thesis Eleven, 77(1), 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513604042660 https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513604042660

Altiparmakis, A., Bojar, A., Brouard, S., Foucault, M., Kriesi, H. & Nadeau, R. (2021). Pandemic politics: policy evaluations of government responses to COVID-19. West European Politics, 44(5–6), 1159–1179. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1930754 https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1930754

Bolleyer, N. & Salát, O. (2021). Parliaments in times of crisis: COVID-19, populism and executive dominance. West European Politics, 44(5–6), 1103–1128. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1930733 https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1930733

Johansson, K.M. & Raunio, T. (2020). Centralizing Government Communication? Evidence from Finland and Sweden. Politics & Policy, 48(6), 1138–1160. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12370 https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12370

Jørgensen, F., Bor, A., Lindholt, M.F. & Petersen, M.B. (2021). Public support for government responses against COVID-19: assessing levels and predictors in eight Western democracies during 2020. West European Politics, 44(5–6), 1129–1158. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1925821 https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1925821

Karvonen, Lauri, Paloheimo, H. & Raunio, T. (Eds.) (2016). The Changing Balance of Political Power in Finland. Santérus Academic Press.

Kekkonen, S. & Raunio, T. (2011). Towards Stronger Political Steering: Program Management Reform in the Finnish Government. In C. Dahlström, B.G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Steering from the Centre: Strengthening Political Control in Western Democracies (pp. 241–260). University of Toronto Press. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442687066-013 https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442687066-013

Kujanen, M. & Raunio, T. (2021). Finland: the president becomes involved as the government nearly collapses. Presidential Power blog, 24.5.2021, https://presidential-power.net/?p=11738.

Louwerse, T., Sieberer, U., Tuttnauer, O. & R.B. Andeweg (2021). Opposition in times of crisis: COVID-19 in parliamentary debates. West European Politics, 44(5–6), 1025–1051. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1886519 https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1886519

Mueller, J.E. (1970). Presidential popularity from Truman to Johnson. American Political Science Review, 64(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/1955610 https://doi.org/10.2307/1955610

Mörttinen, M. (2021). Valtioneuvoston ydin kriisitilanteessa: Covid-19 pandemian paineet suomalaiselle päätöksenteolle. Sitra. https://www.sitra.fi/julkaisut/valtioneuvoston-ydin-kriisitilanteessa/

Neuvonen, P.J. (2020). The COVID-19 policymaking under the auspices of parliamentary constitutional review: The case of Finland and its implications. European Policy Analysis, 2020(6), 226–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1098 https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1098

Niemikari, R., Raunio, T. & Moring, T. (2019). Finland: Informal Interdependence and Occasional Clashes. In K.M. Johansson & G. Nygren (Eds.), Close and Distant: Political Executive–Media Relations in Four Countries (pp. 29–54). Nordicom. http://www.nordicom.gu.se/sv/publikationer/close-and-distant

OTKES (2021). Koronaepidemian ensimmäinen vaihe Suomessa vuonna 2020 [The First Phase of the Corona Pandemic in Finland 2020]. The Finnish Safety Investigation Authority. https://turvallisuustutkinta.fi/material/collections/20210630071110/7RRUvNDBZ/P2020-01_Korona.pdf

Raunio, T. (2021). Finland: Forming and Managing Ideologically Heterogeneous Oversized Coalitions. In T. Bergman, H. Bäck & J. Hellström (Eds.), Coalition Governance in Western Europe (pp. 165–205). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198868484.003.0006 https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198868484.003.0006

Ruostetsaari, I. (2017). Stealth democracy, elitism, and citizenship in Finnish energy policy. Energy Research & Social Science, 34(December), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.022

Saukkonen, P. (2003). Suomalaisen yhteiskunnan historia, rakenne ja poliittinen kulttuuri. In P. Saukkonen (Ed.), Paikkana politiikka: Tietoja ja tulkintoja Suomen poliittisesta järjestelmästä (pp. 9–42). Helsingin yliopisto, Acta Politica 26.

Statistics Finland (2020). Kansalaispulssi 1/2020. Survey. Available at: https://www.stat.fi/tup/htpalvelut/tutkimukset/kansalaispulssi.html, accessed 31 March 2022.

Tiedebarometri (2019). Tieteen tiedotus. http://www.tieteentiedotus.fi/tiedebarometri.html, accessed 31 March 2022.

Tiihonen, S. (2021). Pääministerin nousu kriisijohtajaksi. Politiikka, 63(1), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.37452/politiikka.101734 https://doi.org/10.37452/politiikka.101734

Tiili, M. (2008). Ministers as strategic political leaders? Strategic political steering after NPM reforms in Finland. Acta Politica 34, Department of Political Science, University of Helsinki.

Tiirinki, H., Tynkkynen, L-K., Sovala, M., Atkins, S., Koivusalo, M., Rautiainen, P., Jormanainen, V. & Keskimäki, I. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic in Finland – Preliminary analysis on health system response and economic consequences. Health Policy and Technology, 9(4), 649–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.08.005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.08.005

Virtanen, P., Uusikylä, P., Jalava, J., Tiihonen, S., Laitinen, L. & Noro, K. (2016). Valtioneuvoston yhtenäisyys – kansainvälinen vertaileva tutkimus. Valtioneuvoston kanslia, Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 49/2016. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79785

VNK [Prime Minister’s Office] (2021). Selvitys koronakriisin aikana toteutetun valtioneuvoston kriisijohtamisen ja valmiuslain käyttöönoton kokemuksista. Valtioneuvoston selvitys 2021:1. https://vnk.fi/hanke?tunnus=VNK116:00/2020