Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) reappeared before the cameras to address the growing controversy over the government's approval of 35 million euros in support for a real estate venture led by a former National Coalition Party cabinet minister.
Speaking about the Garden Helsinki project on Yle's A-studio current-affairs programme on Wednesday evening, admitted that the discussion surrounding the project did not look good.
He denied that there were any hints of corruption in the case, saying that such "decisions cannot be bought from the NCP".
According to the prime minister, his biggest mistake regarding the issue has been one of communications.
"My mistake is probably that I haven't been able to explain clearly enough what happened here," Orpo said.
Pelkonen notes that Orpo has not spoken out about the issue since June, saying "that's a long time to be silent when the topic is being discussed in public every day". She added that some questions about the furore remained unanswered.
Plans have been afoot for a decade to build a large new arena adjacent to old Helsinki Ice Hall. Originally, hotels, apartments, and offices were to be built around the arena, but as of now the project has been scaled back to a 19,000-seat multi-purpose arena.
Ex-mayor's emails "completely inappropriate"
Orpo stressed that the state support for the Helsinki Garden venture is conditional and will be reviewed in September.
He also dismissed lobbying emails sent by Jan Vapaavuori, former NCP mayor of Helsinki and Minister of Economic Affairs, as "completely inappropriate".
In messages to Orpo's assistant, Vapaavuori urged that the Garden project should be "pushed through" and afterwards expressed his thanks for fast-tracking the matter.
PM claims ignorance of rival ventures
According to an analysis by Yle political journalist Linda Pelkonen, Orpo "pretty much threw Vapaavuori under the bus".
"Orpo once again showed that he is an experienced politician who knows how to arrange his words and keep a poker face even in difficult situations. It does not yet seem that the prime minister will have to plan his resignation, but there were difficult and embarrassing moments in the broadcast," she writes.
Orpo claimed he was unaware of other competing arena projects, including one in Vantaa, when he decided to fund the Garden project.
Finance Minister Riikka Purra (NCP) had previously rejected funding for the Garden project, citing the rival projects. Despite Orpo's denials, many may be left wondering whether it is credible that he did not know about them, Pelkonen observes.
NCP support plunges
"How many members of the public, after watching A-studio, were convinced that the Garden project would have gone ahead without the public pressure remains a mystery. But the drop in the National Coalition Party's support to below 17 percent in the latest HS poll, its lowest level in five years, may be just a foretaste," she writes.
Some opposition politicians have demanded that Parliament return from its summer recess for a vote testing confidence in the government.
"If Parliament wants, I am ready to handle the matter," Orpo responded.
However, Pelkonen points out that the decision would be in the hands of Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho of the co-governing Finns Party, who has in the past rejected similar calls to interrupt a recess due to a political uproar.
