Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) has decided to convene Parliament in the middle of its summer holiday at the request of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) and the opposition parties. Parliament will convene at 12 noon on Tuesday.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, Orpo said he had asked for the special session amid suggestions of a 'backroom deal' involving his National Coalition Party that awarded 35 million euros to a party colleague's sports hall venture.
"The government will provide Parliament with a statement regarding its decision made during its midterm budget talks on conditional support for the Garden Helsinki project. I have discussed this with Speaker Halla-aho and asked the Speaker to convene Parliament," Orpo posted on X.
He said that ministers would brief MPs on the matter on Tuesday.
Questions continue to swirl around the issue despite the prime minister's efforts to defend the decision on Yle's A-studio programme on Wednesday evening.
The decision was allegedly made without considering rival projects and despite opposition from Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns).
Funding was quietly approved last year at the same time as support for social and healthcare services was being slashed, for example.
Ex-mayor lobbied for new hockey arena
The Garden Helsinki venue in capital's Töölö district is to be the new home arena of the Helsinki IFK ice hockey team. The project is spearheaded by a long-time NCP colleague of Orpo's, ex-economic affairs minister and Helsinki mayor Jan Vapaavuori.
In recent weeks, the opposition has demanded that the Speaker convene Parliament due to questions raised by the state funding that was diverted to the Garden Helsinki Arena.
Orpo told Yle late Wednesday that he is ready to face a vote of confidence in Parliament if necessary during the summer.
Halla-aho said earlier that he considered the case so serious that the threshold for convening Parliament might be exceeded.
"This involves suspicions of corruption, questionable use of taxpayer money and whether the prime minister has told the truth in discussions related to this matter. I consider these to be extremely serious questions," Halla-aho told Yle.
According to the Constitution, the Speaker can decide to convene Parliament at any time. However, this rarely occurs during its long summer recess.
In the summer of 2023, the entire opposition demanded a vote of confidence in Purra and the suspension of the parliamentary recess due to the revelation of her old racist online posts. However, in that case Halla-aho declined to convene the legislature during the summer.
16 July, 4.12pm: Updated with Halla-aho decision, other details.
