All poli­ti­cal parties want good. Who would inten­tio­nally want to replace well­be­ing with distress?

We all agree that it is good for child­ren to attend school. That a person with a memory disor­der should be provi­ded with help, and care can be acces­sed from the healt­h­care centre queues. Few people disagree on the fact that there should be snow during future winters. Or that it must be safe on the stre­ets.

Thus, aiming for good is a common factor. Signi­fi­cant diffe­rences can be found in methods, or more often, in the lack of them. 

The key to a solu­tion is not about having the courage to reach deep into a shared chest. More so, that work is done so that more of the chest shines than just the brass base. 

There­fore, the ques­tion is: who can handle our matters in such a way that common good incre­a­ses, joint funds are suffi­ci­ent, and services are func­tio­nal.

First, you have to make somet­hing to share, and only then can it be shared. An empty fridge will remain empty even if the door is opened from morning to evening.

An unfor­tu­nate number of poli­ti­cal parties do not give enough recog­ni­tion to the fact that muni­ci­pa­li­ties will shri­vel without a func­tio­nal economy. They will lose life, jobs and services. The problem cannot be solved by incre­a­singly sharing from a decre­a­sing amount. Or by conti­nu­ally incre­a­sing taxes. It must be remem­be­red that, in the end, muni­ci­pa­li­ties use the funds of the muni­ci­pal resi­dents.

Without a sustai­nable economy, we would not have the world’s best educa­tion system, a func­tio­nal healt­h­care system or good public trans­port. Without people and compa­nies that truly work, inno­vate and leap into the uncer­tainty or reach for the stars, we would not have asphalt on the roads, mobile libra­ries or festi­vals.

The formula is quite simple: when people have the resour­ces for a good life in a muni­ci­pa­lity, its heart conti­nues to beat, the economy is in good shape, and work and jobs are crea­ted. This in turn accu­mu­la­tes somet­hing to share, and services can be main­tai­ned; safety, comfort, the envi­ron­ment and hobby oppor­tu­ni­ties can be ensu­red.

Coali­tio­nism is the most humane form of poli­tics. It does not only offer pretty words and aim for good, but it also takes action and crea­tes good.

There­fore, the heart beats on the right.

We say yes to a robust muni­ci­pal economy, the purcha­sing power of people, the success of compa­nies and sustai­nable deve­lop­ment

The muni­ci­pal economy must be trea­ted in the same way as perso­nal finan­ces. Debts must be paid, you can’t spend more than you earn, you have to save up for a rainy day, and it is worth inve­sting in the future. We disap­prove of poor finance mana­ge­ment, where there is no inter­ven­tion for problems, and impro­ve­ments are not made.

There­fore, if - and unfor­tu­na­tely, more often, when - money is tight, we find a solu­tion to change the direc­tion. The primary finan­cial adap­tion method must not be to reach into the purses of muni­ci­pal resi­dents. We are against muni­ci­pal tax incre­a­ses. Employment taxa­tion is alre­ady at a stag­ge­ring level in Finland. It cannot be stret­ched any more. Instead, services must be produ­ced smar­ter and more effecti­vely.

Accor­ding to the Natio­nal Coali­tion Party, people must be allo­wed, as far as possible, to decide for them­sel­ves how they use their own money. We aim to ensure that the muni­ci­pal tax is not incre­a­sed in Finnish muni­ci­pa­li­ties during the dele­ga­tion period. Muni­ci­pa­li­ties’ hidden taxa­tion and the incre­ase in living costs must also be control­led. The annual rise in waste fees, electri­city trans­mis­sion fees, water fees or other payments must not be a method for patching up a muni­ci­pa­li­ty’s weak finan­cial situ­a­tion. First of all, everyt­hing possible must be done to improve producti­vity and compe­ti­tion.

Compa­nies create work and well­be­ing. The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party is Finlan­d’s most entre­pre­neur-friendly party. We wish to make all muni­ci­pa­li­ties entre­pre­neur-friendly. Muni­ci­pa­li­ties’ primary duty is to offer good prerequi­si­tes for entre­pre­neurs­hip. 

A muni­ci­pa­lity does not just need to be a bystan­der and observe how the compa­nies are mana­ging. With its actions, it can influ­ence how compa­nies succeed. Whene­ver a muni­ci­pa­lity makes deci­sions, we want the effects the deci­sion has on entre­pre­neurs to be asses­sed. When a muni­ci­pa­lity offers services, it must listen to compa­nies: If a company is able to prove that it can produce the service arranged by the muni­ci­pa­lity at a higher quality or more affor­dably, the produc­tion of the service must be tende­red. 

We want SMEs also to have the oppor­tu­nity to parti­ci­pate in tenders. Tenders must be divi­ded into suitable compo­nents. The opera­tions of muni­ci­pal compa­nies must be limi­ted, exclu­ding stra­te­gic opera­tions, to areas where there isn’t a func­tio­nal market.

More work is obtai­ned when a job seeker finds some­one offe­ring work. The muni­ci­pa­li­ties must help indi­vi­du­als that find it chal­lenging to be employed for one reason or anot­her. Unemployed indi­vi­du­als should not be sent around from one desk to anot­her, but instead, the muni­ci­pa­lity must take genu­i­nely meaning­ful action. This is only possible when there are close connec­tions to compa­nies and educa­tio­nal insti­tu­tes, and compa­nies parti­ci­pate in solving problems. 

Plan­ning must ensure that the muni­ci­pa­lity has oppor­tu­ni­ties for vari­ous forms of housing and leisure time as well as a constant and suffi­ci­ent number of busi­ness plots. In plan­ning, we beli­eve in diver­sity and market-based housing produc­tion. We rely on people gene­rally acting wisely without strict and detai­led stan­dar­di­sa­tion. 

Town plan­ning must not be hinde­red by bureaucracy. A proces­sing time guaran­tee must be regu­la­ted for autho­ri­ties’ permit proces­ses. If a permit applied for by a muni­ci­pal resi­dent or company is not proces­sed within the given time frame, and there is no clear legal aspect preven­ting the issu­ance of the permit, it is issued auto­ma­ti­cally. The dissol­ving of stan­dards must also be initi­a­ted in muni­ci­pa­li­ties. 

The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party also says yes when seek­ing bold solu­tions to our time’s most chal­lenging problems. Climate change is a global issue, but concrete actions are often carried out locally in muni­ci­pa­li­ties and cities. The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party wants nature to remain clean and diverse for future gene­ra­tions. The oil heating of local schools is repla­ced with geot­her­mal heating. Coal burning is repla­ced with low-emis­sion forms of energy. New ideas are imple­men­ted in waste recycling. Traf­fic emis­sions are redu­ced smartly and effecti­vely. Waste­wa­ter and stor­m­wa­ter are trea­ted in an even better way.

We beli­eve that educa­tion carries us forward: funda­men­tal issues are shaped out, a stop to isola­tion and bully­ing

We want more school in schools. This does not mean going back in time but strengthe­ning the aspects of schools that are good. It is a ques­tion of the very funda­men­tals: more time, i.e. lessons, profes­sio­nals that enjoy appre­ci­a­tion and more studi­ous pupils, and a school where no-one needs to fear. We demand school premi­ses be healthy and safe. 

Our aim is that the muni­ci­pa­lity can offer more weekly hours than requi­red by the natio­nal mini­mum. This way pupils can be provi­ded, for example, with a wide selec­tion of langu­a­ges and optio­nal subjects. Lessons can also be added to a subject that is alre­ady being taught, such as Finnish as a first langu­age, mathe­ma­tics or physi­cal educa­tion. Suffi­ci­ent teacher resour­ces will safe­gu­ard the timely low thres­hold lear­ning support for indi­vi­du­als who need it.  

We trust teachers. We beli­eve that influ­en­tial work can only be carried out in schools if the teachers have the oppor­tu­nity and free­dom to focus on good teaching. In schools, pupils must be able to learn, and teachers able to teach - without fear or worries. We want to do everyt­hing possible to elimi­nate bully­ing in schools. Every case of bully­ing requires inter­ven­tion, and if neces­sary, furt­her mana­ge­ment. 

The problem concer­ning school dropouts and isola­tion is still unsol­ved. The govern­men­t’s project to expand compul­sory educa­tion will not rectify these issues. The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party does not beli­eve in force. A pupil forced to attend will not stay in school. The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party wants to ensure that every young person has good basic skills, such as reading, calcu­la­tion and social skills, after compre­hen­sive school. 

In our opinion, support and help must be targe­ted to pupils that need it. Exten­ding compul­sory educa­tion risks funds being cut from educa­tio­nal contents and pupils’ perso­nal support.

After compre­hen­sive school, each indi­vi­dual must find their own path, whet­her it is an acade­mic degree or practi­cal work as a profes­sio­nal. The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party beli­e­ves the colla­bo­ra­tion of diffe­rent enti­ties. For compa­nies to have a suffi­ci­ent number of skil­led profes­sio­nals, and on the other hand, for hard-working people to have jobs, dialo­gue between the diffe­rent opera­tors of a region is requi­red.

In 2006, Finland was a clear number one in the ranking of inter­na­tio­nal PISA results. We were the world’s best in natu­ral sciences and mathe­ma­tics, second-best in lite­racy. We conti­nue to be among the best in the world, but not the best. The trend has been decli­ning throug­hout the past decade.

The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party wants Finland to regain its top rank in lear­ning results. We want to end the decli­ning trend, get the weaker perfor­ming indi­vi­du­als on board, and ensure that all young people’s perso­nal skills are recog­ni­sed.

We strongly beli­eve that the founda­tion for skills is crea­ted alre­ady in child­hood. Child­ren’s atten­dance in early child­hood educa­tion should be brought to a Scan­di­na­vian level. It is easier to strengthen skills as a child than over­come shortcomings as an adult.

In 2021, a two-year pre-schoo­ling pilot will begin, and approx­i­ma­tely 10,000 child­ren will parti­ci­pate in it. Curricula will be prepa­red for pre-schoo­ling, aiming to strengthen the child­ren’s skills in an age-appro­pri­ate manner. We would imple­ment pre-schoo­ling on a two-year basis for every­one in Finland so that every­one would have suffi­ci­ent skills when star­ting school.

We want people to move from queues to care; we beli­eve in muni­ci­pa­li­ties and people’s free­dom of choice, we object provin­cial admi­nist­ra­tion

The Natio­nal Coali­tion Party wants to rectify the problems of social and healt­h­care services based on the current system without provin­ces. The provin­cial model only brings about more problems. We strongly object the provin­cial tax because it would also incre­ase employment taxa­tion. 

Muni­ci­pa­li­ties and colla­bo­ra­tion between muni­ci­pa­li­ties is the best way to orga­nise services in the future too.When muni­ci­pa­li­ties colla­bo­rate, services can be arranged with a suffi­ci­ently large popu­la­tion base, in an effi­ci­ent and high-quality manner and in such a way that the deci­sion-making power remains in local hands. 

The govern­men­t’s provin­cial model crea­tes a new form of regi­o­nal income redis­tri­bu­tion, incre­a­ses taxa­tion, and takes services furt­her away from the people. The provin­cial model incre­a­ses bureaucracy and moves the deci­sion-making power away from the muni­ci­pal and city councils to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. It demo­lishes the cities’ ability to invest in the future, such as in schools, infrastructure or leisure services.

Instead of queu­e­ing, people need to be able to access care. We would reduce the health care guaran­tee from three months to one month in health centres and mental health services. We would halve the health care guaran­tee from six months to three months in hospi­tal care and oral healt­h­care initi­a­tion. Access to care must be made avai­lable within a month, prefe­rably even quic­ker. If a service is not avai­lable within the time frame, the custo­mer must be provi­ded with a service voucher, which can be used to choose where they wish to seek their care. When care is acces­sed at an early stage, the need for more consu­ming services redu­ces.

We would deve­lop digi­tal social and health services. We want an appli­ca­tion that will also allow dentist appoint­ments to be made in the public sector, doctors’ appoint­ments to be atten­ded remo­tely or labo­ra­tory test results to be recei­ved to mobile phones.

Preven­tion and early inter­ven­tion are the best social services. Every person who acces­ses help in a suffi­ci­ently early stage is a human and finan­cial win. 

Child­ren particu­larly must be protec­ted and helped before the problems become more complex or seri­ous. A child and family must have access to help as soon as there is a need. The world’s best prena­tal system gives the oppor­tu­nity to encoun­ter every child and family regu­larly. Family services must be subject to a low thres­hold, and open care must have suffi­ci­ent resour­ces. In addi­tion to the muni­ci­pa­li­ties’ solu­tions, legis­la­tion must ensure child protec­tion services have the autho­ri­sa­tions to carry out their work. Child protec­tion insti­tu­tes must be able to set suffi­ci­ent restric­tions for young people.

We will also make the therapy guaran­tee a reality. Anyone with mental health problems must receive appro­pri­ate care and therapy at an early stage, before any seri­ous problems.

A person’s mental health and social capi­tal do not disap­pear when they retire. Seni­ors are active opera­tors, not just service users. In many muni­ci­pa­li­ties, seni­ors are a carry­ing force in, for example, volun­te­e­ring work or large consu­mers of culture. In a lively Coali­tion muni­ci­pa­lity, seni­ors have vari­ous hobby and enter­tain­ment acti­vi­ties - it keeps lone­li­ness at bay. It is vital to seni­ors too that the muni­ci­pal tax and service fees remain reaso­nable, leaving money to spend on other things. 

The Coali­tion heart beats for the elderly - life can be rich and balan­ced to the very end. The capa­city of seni­ors should be suppor­ted in every way. Living at home is humane and wise when coping at home is possible, and it is a perso­nal wish. We want to put effort into there being as many healthy years of life as possible, and that coping at home is achi­e­ved as well as possible. Carers - those who care for others - must be suppor­ted with, for example, a suffi­ci­ent number of days off.

Reha­bi­li­ta­tion is not spoken about enough in Finland. Falling over once must not mean that you can never get up again by your­self. In a Coali­tion muni­ci­pa­lity, there are places where mobi­lity and muscle fitness can be cherished toget­her with others - sports parks and illu­mi­na­ted jogging paths. Preven­ta­tive exer­cise is an excel­lent way to incre­ase healthy years of life. Simul­ta­ne­ously, the need for more deman­ding services for the elderly is redu­ced.

Nothing can replace a human gaze, the touch of a hand. In home care, we favour perma­nent care rela­tions­hips. It is impor­tant that the same carer can visit the person as often as possible. In 24-hour service housing, huma­nity can refer to, for example, a home-like envi­ron­ment. When there are wishes to stroll to the park to hear the magpi­e’s first song of the spring, this wish must not be unful­fil­led just because there was no-one to accom­pany the person.

The quality of elderly services must be conti­nu­ously moni­to­red. We would incre­ase the number of unan­nounced inspec­tion visits at both private and public sector care homes.

Social and health services would not run even for a day without skil­led and committed staff. We would incre­ase the number of admis­sions to social and health study program­mes. We would ensure the oppor­tu­nity for suffi­ci­ent follow-up trai­ning to social and health sector profes­sio­nals. We would put effort into good leaders­hip. Good mana­ge­ment ensu­res that staff can focus on work that matches their skills.

A home must be found for all home­less people. Our method for this is to direct publicly subsi­di­sed rental apart­ments more strongly to home­less people and strengthen social work. Our objective is to elimi­nate home­lessness in Finland during the next dele­ga­tion period.

For us, small issues are large issues: we will get nature trails, swim­ming halls and summer theat­res in shape 

What truly makes life func­tio­nal? An illu­mi­na­ted jogging path? Timely bus sche­du­les? A child’s day-care that is close to home? The rocky terrains of the local forest? The exten­ded opening hours of the swim­ming hall? A chat-based appoint­ment booking service for a dental check-up? Conve­ni­ent diago­nal parking places near the local shops? A safe commute to school?

Everyday life func­tio­na­lity often refers to surpri­singly minor issues. They also vary accor­ding to where you live. Everyday life func­tio­na­lity looks diffe­rent in diffe­rent areas of the country and even on diffe­rent sides of a city. Every Finnish muni­ci­pa­li­ty’s objective should be to ensure that our everyday life func­tions in the world’s best way.

In a good muni­ci­pa­lity, stations, stre­ets and parks are safe for every­one, at any time of the day.  Urban plan­ning must pay even more atten­tion to everyday life safety: suffi­ci­ent ligh­ting, safe pedestrian crossings and the reduc­tion of unhe­althy diffe­ren­ti­a­tion. Work prerequi­si­tes for the muni­ci­pa­li­ty’s own safety opera­tors in rescue services and primary care must be in place. Muni­ci­pa­li­ties must undergo active dialo­gue with the police and other safety autho­ri­ties. Silent and alar­ming signals need to be addres­sed quickly.

The free­dom of move­ment is a funda­men­tal human right. People move because it is fun and bene­fi­cial - to work, hobbies, day-care, school or to visit rela­ti­ves for example. Moving around in every muni­ci­pa­lity should be effort­less. A private car is a neces­sity for most Finns. Well-func­tio­ning public trans­port, as well as good walking and cycling prerequi­si­tes are needed. This way, the attracti­ve­ness of the areas will also incre­ase. Future trans­por­ta­tion must conso­li­date lower emis­sions and effort­less move­ment. A sensible objective is not to reduce move­ment or driving, but to reduce emis­sions. We are not in favour of road tolls, which would be applied on top of the alre­ady high taxes Finns pay. 

In a Coali­tion muni­ci­pa­lity, life is active. People move around and have hobbies. The muni­ci­pa­lity offers the fram­eworks: jogging paths, ski tracks, ice holes and nature trails. And prefe­rably, in active and open coope­ra­tion with clubs and asso­ci­a­tions.

Life happens in a muni­ci­pa­lity. People convene at the town hall not just because they are reques­ted, and volun­tary acti­vi­ties are active. Every child is guaran­teed a hobby with the hobby guaran­tee. In cities, culture is visible in both high-quality cultural insti­tu­tes and the citys­cape. The design of new areas and buil­dings must consi­der art that delights the muni­ci­pal resi­dents from the very begin­ning.

It is a ques­tion of will and capa­city. It is a ques­tion of the muni­ci­pal deci­sion-makers’ and offi­ci­als’ deter­mi­na­tion and well-func­tio­ning systems. We promise that we are inte­res­ted and that it will lead to actions. We want muni­ci­pa­li­ties to learn to operate in the chan­ging world. It is not enough for bulle­tins of deci­sions to be published online and atta­ched to the muni­ci­pal noti­ce­board. Every muni­ci­pa­lity must have a genu­i­nely func­tio­nal feed­back system. This incre­a­ses capa­city to solve every day problems in the muni­ci­pa­lity. If a bulb has burnt out, it is repla­ced. If the rubbish bin is full, it is emptied. A good muni­ci­pa­lity lives the everyday life of people, reacts to problems and solves them.

---

The Board of the Natio­nal Coali­tion Party has appro­ved this muni­ci­pal elec­tion programme. It outli­nes the Natio­nal Coali­tion Party’s points of empha­sis for the muni­ci­pal elec­tions and its opini­ons on the key muni­ci­pal poli­tics’ and natio­nal poli­tics’ issues concer­ning muni­ci­pa­li­ties. Thus, it answers what the Natio­nal Coali­tion Party finds particu­larly impor­tant right now, in these muni­ci­pal elec­tions. At its Party meeting in the autumn of 2020, the Natio­nal Coali­tion Party has appro­ved a compre­hen­sive objecti­ves programme that outli­nes the Party’s opini­ons on vari­ous poli­ti­cal sector issues. The objecti­ves programme outli­nes can be found here: https://www.kokoomus.fi/kokoomus-k62020/

Mer innehåll i samma kategori