Sweden is a safe society. Surely their politicians do get shot or stabbed every once in a while. But if you’re one of the common folks, then you’ll be just fine.

Especially kids, Swedes do make sure that their kids are playing safe. In this land they dress up all children with walking capabilities into fluorescent yellow and orange vests. Yes, kids wear them even as they are playing in the playground between two huge apartment buildings with no roads or highways in sight. And these kids are even enclosed in a fenced area. I happily observe small fluorescent balls rolling on the ground, as they appear from my 8th floor apartment building. At least I know they are safe.

But safety for common folks does not end here. No, no, that’s where it begins. Take for instance well organized public transportation. Not only it runs exactly on timetable, but they also make sure that your boss and wife don’t have to worry while you’re on your way to and from work. When I first took a ride on one of the trams in Gothenburg I was outright stunned. In that single tiny carriage there were at least 8 CCTV cameras. Eight small, but, of course, big enough to notice, black domes hanging from the ceiling. Just to make sure I was not riding some kind of special bank to every-Swedish-home tram, I jumped on another one. Same thing. Bus? Sure enough, they were there too, actually even more of them.

I don’t know about you, but these things don’t really make me feel any safer or cozier. I definitely didn’t feet like taking a nap, knowing that a watchful eye will look after me and my belongings. And neither did I see anyone else dozing off. Quite the opposite, the whole camera ordeal just makes me think what is (or was) going on in the city that made them install all this surveillance.

But then I found out that for some reason or another, Swedes want to be surveilled. They already are under some heavy surveillance already, and what came as a surprise to me, Swedes nevertheless think they are not surveilled enough. According to a recent survey, nearly 80% of Swedes would actually want to have more surveillance. There’s more, 87% would even grant the police the right to eavesdrop on their phone calls and emails. How weird is that? But wait, there’s more. 51% of Swedes support the national DNA register and a whopping 91% want camera surveillance in the public spaces. Who were they asking in this survey? The Bush family? What’s going on here?

Although, I am a bit skeptical about the realness of all those cameras. I mean, what the hell, who wouldn’t put in fake cameras just to make the population placid and satisfied. At least I would, if my citizens would have wanted more surveillance. I guess I have to go out and make something stupid in the tram, just to see what happens.

Oh, this overly careful society, all those useless cameras, but they don’t even install electrical plugs in their bathrooms. Yes, men have to shave in their kitchens and women dry their hair in the entry hall, if they were to do it at the same time. I’d definitely like to peak more into the private life of a common Swede. All this voyeurism. It is already catching on me.

Mladen

For the past year or so, I have been following the Finnish media quite closely. Since I’m not really a TV person, I’ve been reading various newspapers and listening to radio a lot. And I’ve learned a lot about the Finnish culture and society through these. For instance, one of the interesting things I have noticed is that Finnish media are extremely homogeneous and almost hermetically closed to everything and everyone that is different.

On one hand I’ve found all these newspapers and radio stations very informative as they cover a wide range of topics ranging from local to global. But on the other hand they also do what media can do best: ignore. There are topics and issues that are completely ignored. And what is ignored by the media is practically removed from the public debates. I’ve identified at least two such almost “forgotten” topics: minorities and immigrants.

In Finland six minorities are officially recognized: Samí, Romanies, Russians, Tatars, Swedish-speaking Finns and Jews. Even though they are not very populous Samí, Romanies and Russians are noticeable in everyday life (Samí in northern parts, Romanies, Russians and Swedish-speaking Finns in central and southern parts) and all visibly influence the majority culture and language. However, with the exception of the Swedish-speaking Finns, they are hardly ever mentioned in the media and when they are they are most often either perpetrators or victims of criminal activities. This is especially true for the Romanies.

Simiarly could be said for the immigrants. The picture of immigrant life was until very recently even more blurred. Until just a month or so ago there has been very little talk about immigrants even though they represent a substantial part of the population, especially in the southern parts of the country and Helsinki area. But there has been some noticeable positive progress.

Finnish commercial TV station MTV3 in November begun airing a TV series Mogadishu Avenue. Mogadishu Avenue peeps into immigrant life in Helsinki. The series takes place in Meri-Rastila, an area of Helsinki where every fifth resident has a foreign background.

Also in November national newspaper Helsingin Sanomat opened on their Web site a section devoted to immigrants. Even though there is not much to read there right now, I expect that they will be expanding this section in the following weeks and months. Then on November 30th Helsingin Sanomat organized event Uusia helsinkiläisiä – kaikki hyvin? (New helsinkians - everything alright?) where both immigrants and locals presented and discussed various issues they encounter in their everyday life. And the topic is quite hot right now. I don’t exactly know if this is so because the parliamentary elections are taking place in March 2007 and immigrants are definitely one of the top campaign topics for many parties. Or is it simply because just now the number of immigrants has reached a point when a public discussion had to be initiated.

Whatever the reason, I think this discussion has been awaited for a long time now. There are many obstacles immigrants need to cross in Finland. Following the topic in the papers, I got the feeling that all immigrants need to be better in every aspect to be equal to locals. And that applies to everything including the knowledge of the language. In a recent article editors from different media almost unanimously claimed that they would employ maybe second or only third generation immigrants, all blaming the difficult language for such delay. There must be something else at stake here, especially when the managing editor of Helsingin Sanomat Kimmo Pietinen states that “the influence [of immigrants] can only be positive. Anyway, buses wouldn’t move, offices wouldn’t be cleaned and maybe newspapers would be delivered.”

Mladen

I’ve had a very busy week; attended a few good lectures, heard lots of interesting things, had many engaging conversations and learned something too. Part of it was that I participated in a tremendously eye-opening workshop on lobbying the EU. Partly theoretical, but also very practical workshop, was led by a Belgian lecturer from the Ghent University Rik Otten who has himself spent some time in the EU political circles in Brussels, so he spoke from his own experience too.

Although I am sure that what I have heard in this short eight-hour workshop only barely scratched the surface on lobbying the EU, it was enlightening to hear about one aspect of the EU policy shaping. We heard all about how to prepare for lobbying campaigns, how and where to begin, the do’s and do not’s, the ethics, corruption, infamous cases–pretty much everything about lobbying in a tiny nutshell. It’s a complex thing, but it all boils down to relationship management and chess-like techniques.

As it often is, many of the things are rather obvious, but nevertheless you one might not think of them immediately. For instance, before you can even begin lobbying you have to know what for and who you need to talk to. Sounds a lot easier than it is. So, how do you approach the right person? Networking. Go places where you will meet them, in other words purposefully bump into them and start the small-talk. Never mention your intentions the first time you meet. Talk about something completely else. Exchange business cards. Try to bump into them the second time. Talk more, you mention the topic you’re lobbying for (or against), but don’t present it as an issue or a problem. Not just yet; build the relationship first. Maybe after your third or fourth encounter you could give them a phone call and say something along the lines of: “Remember that thing we were talking about, well I’ve got some really interesting information about this I’ll send your way.” Then go play golf or tennis to discuss it. Not only that this sounds like, but it practically is dating.

In Brussels alone there are 15,000 lobbyists. Although being a lobbyist is nothing to be ashamed of, of those 15,000 trying to influence EU policy making, only 5,000 are registered as lobbyists. And I bet that most of them are registered just because registration allows them the access to the European Parliament, which is needed at least at some point. And 15,000 lobbyists does sound a bit scary if you try to imagine the clash of interests, I like the perspective EU officials are taking on this: one lobbyist means corruption, thousand provide a solution.

Power is useless if not used tactfully. If you personally know, for instance, the commissioner covering the area which you are trying to influence, it is an absolute no-no to contact them directly. High-ranking officials have power, but they practically never do the tedious research work or write documents and arguments themselves. They have assistants for that, and these assistants, who just like everyone else, don’t like to hear from their boss what they have to write, how and when. So, if they hear your instructions from their boss, the chances are great they will bite back, won’t write up, delay, or even skew something. In other words, you’re screwed. It is the assistants you need to approach first and influence the commissioner through them. Befriend the small cogs in a huge apparatus, pursue them to be in favor of your cause, they will in turn change the system for you.

This, in fact, skilled lobbyists knew already very early on. I particularly liked the example of Philips. In the 1980’s hundreds of people who were on the payroll of the Dutch electronics giant, worked in the offices of high-ranking EU politicians. Philips seeded people who were shaping the EU policies in favor of their business. I’m sure there were many companies or interest group doing the same thing. Generosity eventually went so far that the number and origin of high-ranking officials’ little helpers needed to be restricted and monitored closely. Although these days it is not uncommon that assistants quit their well paid job and start working as lobbyists taking all their immediate knowledge and contacts to the new working place and utilizing it in a different setting within a different agenda.

And then there are the differences between lobbying in Brussels and Washington. In many ways what is legitimate lobbying in the US is corruption in the EU. How so? Common wining and dining is accepted in the US, but is considered corruption in the EU; politicians are often voted into the office with the support of a lobby group there, while such thing luckily doesn’t happen around the EU. It seems like reason wins in Europe and money talks in the US.

Jack Abramoff is a case in point; the amount and variety of stuff Abramoff did so far in his lobbying career is quite impressive, even for a criminal record, I suppose. He obviously took things to the far when lobbying for the Indian gambling interests, thus his trial in January 2006 has inspired regulative actions both in the US with the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 and in the EU with Green Paper on European Transparency Initiative. A powerful gentleman, no doubt about that.

Anyway, the workshop was an extremely brief encounter with the world of lobbying, but nevertheless very insightful. Too often we easily forget that the world is run by the others. Thus even a peek into the inner workings of political behemoths is always a welcome enlightening. Knowledge is power.

Mladen

Finland should mark August 26th 2006 as an important day in its history. It was on that day when its land area has been reduced by 50 m². But this time it wasn’t the Russians who are to blame for taking over some of the Finnish territory, rather it was one of their own fellow compatriots, Ari Paska Peltonen (yes, Paska as in Shit paska) who took over a piece of territory and claimed independence.

Come again?

But there really isn’t anything new about it either. You know, already for a while quite many such micronations, or microstates, have been in existence and every once in a while a new one pops up. There’s the almost 40 years old Principality of Sealand, fundamentaly artistic Ladonia, the universal state of NSK-State, the state of all boundaries unified in Kingdoms of Elgaland&Vargaland, and the utterly civil Transnational Republic. In fact there are enough micronations in existence that in 2003 the first Summit of Micronations was organized in Helsinki. But if you keep a list of micronations, you can add a new one: Valtio.

Naturally one should ask, Why is this necessary? and Do we really need another state? I guess it’s quite clear that all these micronations could just as well be called egonations as most often they are brainchildren of various artists and serve no other but purely egoistical purpose of their creators. But then again, how does that differ from the purpose of many other “real” nations. I’ll let you muse on that one.

According to Ari Paska Peltonen the founding father of the Valtio (which literally means the State) the first sparks around the idea for the Valtio were made around the brief encounter and inspiring conversation during the Laibach concert in Helsinki where representatives of NSK-State were also present. The concept brewed in his head until he decided to get his own state. How to do it?

In a recent article in Nyt liite Mr. Peltonen describes in what can be seen as Valtio’s manifest and public proclamation of independence, that his next step in the genesis of his State was to contact a professor of international law who told him that in order to have a state one needs at least three things: land, citizens and international relations. That easy? So, Ari went shopping for statehood.

He got the land for Valtio from Ilkka Malmberg a Helsingin Sanomat journalist who years ago out of curiosity bought the cheapest piece of land he could find in Finland–a hectare, to be exact. Being a generous fella, Ilkka donated a whole 10 by 5 meter piece of land to Ari. One down, two to go. Ari now needed only citizens and international relations. Piece of cake.

Creatures of the universe who intercept this transmission, and you dear earthlings too, can apply for Valtio’s citizenship by sending an email to Ari Peltonen. I guess he cannot be too picky about his citizens as many states have become over time in granting something devoid of meaning that they mutually recognize, so I’m sure that your chances of obtaining Valtio’s passport are pretty good right now. And I’m telling you this is an investment in your future. Read on.

Ari has already set up a government with four ministers and himself as the prime minister, president and the monarch. In September 2006 the government of Valtio had their first meeting and so far it looks like it is more stable then the new Swedish government appears to be, or Hungarian, for that matter. And now that they have the basic structure up, Valtio has already started the process of joining the EU, the UN and they are already looking into details on how to participate in the ice hockey, football world championships and, what is most important in the almighty Eurovision Song Contest. Paska has got all of it figured out. All these integrations will catapult Valtio into the last frontier of statehood; into having relations with other nations. But Valtio and Ari really do have stars on their side as the current EU’s commissioner for enlargement, Olli Rehn, speaks their language.

In fact, according to Ari Valtio has already applied for the EU membership and Olli has been positive about their application. All they are waiting for now is the official letter of invitation from the EU. And, of course, there’s a minor detail I forgot to mention, the Finnish parliament must first decide whether they will give Valtio their independence or not.

So far, so good. It seems that Mr. Paska does not have any problems with the Finnish authorities. Although it is really hard to establish what the Finnish politicians make out of it. It seems like they have taken Ari’s actions in a typically relaxed Finnish manner and as a witty move, rather than a serious attempt to alienate a piece of their land and ruin the country’s integrity.

No worries, I’ll keep you posted on how Valtio is doing.

Mladen

You probably remember that a few weeks ago I wrote about all the benefits students are entitled to in Finland. The monetary part, which is at the same time in my opinion also the part with the most profound impact on student’s life, was established some 30 years ago. However, students have been receiving the same monthly allowance for the last 14 years now. Yes, the state has been rude enough not to take into account the inflation or changes in living costs for all those years.

But students want more, they always want more. Well, who doesn’t. For several months already Finnish students have been quite eloquent regarding their demands. Being Finnish, they have kept it quite simple and to the point: “We want more money.” No babbling. There’s been lots of attention dedicated to the topic in both student newspapers issued by universities across the country as well as in the mainstream media. The response was sometimes mixed among the plebeians, but never among the students who know exactly what they are after. Not to mention that 127.000 people have signed the petition in favor of the rise (here’s the pdf listing everyone who signed it).

The government has been quite silent and didn’t take any concrete actions. Students have had it enough and took the matter to the streets. They want a 15% increase on their 260€ per month. But the minister of the finance did the calculations and figured out that this would cost the state more than 70 million Euros a year more. I understand both sides and as I’ve already written about it a few weeks ago, I think that the idea of student state support is an excellent one. Nevertheless, I think that students are pushing their luck a bit too far on this matter.

I’m not saying that they should go shopping around for a different model as this would result in benecide–killing of the benefits altogether. But some of them don’t really get it how good they have it, even though it’s just 260€+ Euros each month. I’ve spoken to a few of my Finnish friends who were not even aware that I am not receiving any such monthly benefits from any country. And outside of Nordic countries, as far as I know, no other country has anything like that. Although Finnish students are arguing that they get the least money of all the Nordic countries.

Of course, it’s wonderful if practically 80% of your rent is paid for by the state, plus you get the pocket money for free. And you get free education and many other benefits. You should be rather happy. Really, come on, it’s an incentive, a stimulation, a support and not free life kind of support. But then again even though the inflation in Finland has been extremely low and annually it never exceeded 3,4% in the last 14 years (it was only 0,9% in 2005 and 0,2% in 2004), it did eat away the total value.

I’ll have to dig a bit, but it would be interesting to find out how this model even got started in the first place: what were the political and what were the real reasons for it, how did those benefits evolve, and so on. I’ll make a follow up on the topic when I find out more about it.

Mladen