Today I was lucky to be able to participate in a tour of Finnish Parliament, courtesy of the American Women’s Club of Finland.

We live near this gorgeous building, and I walk by it every day, so it was quite nice to actually see inside it.

We were able to walk through the gallery, which is known for its sparse but elegant Nordic style, as well as its row of busts of past presidents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also got to see where all the action happens. As someone who started out in journalism, it was interesting to see the press area of the voting forum, pictured below. Guess what? Members of the press share lunchroom and even sauna facilities with Members of Parliament. Sounds cozy, doesn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the speaker’s area, with five statues that symbolize the morals and development of Finnish society. The figure in the middle is a female holding an infant. The woman is facing backward, and the infant faces forward. This is meant to symbolize the past and the future. But it turns out that that’s not the whole story. In 1931, when the building opened, it was considered quite risque to portray a nude woman from the front. Yet the men, of course, are shown in all their glory. (Interesting that this is quite the opposite trend that we see today, for example, in Hollywood films. Isn’t there some big media interest right now about Ben Affleck showing his privates on film?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underneath the right-most statue you can see a blue box. That’s the sign that shows the votes: “yes,” “no,” “abstained,” or “absent.”

One of the women in our group had a good question for our host, Dimitri Qvintus, the Communications Manager for the Social Democratic Party. She asked him to name the three biggest issues the Finnish government is facing today. He said 1) the reformation of the healthcare system 2) the reformation of retirement (both issues having very much to do with the current economic crisis in Finland), and 3) security issues dealing with so much social and political unrest so geographically nearby(e.g., East Ukraine).

Here were a few more highlights from our discussion with Mr. Qvintus:

• “In Finnish government, we say that sooner or later, everybody’s sauna burns down.” This means that every political party (or every politician, for that matter), gets their own turn for chaos and defeat.
• He said that the longer he is in politics, the more he is convinced that it is NOT all about one’s political party. “I think what’s best for our country is also what’s best for our party,” he said. At this point, many of the American women were nodding their heads in agreement, wishing that American politicians could take a page out of his book.
• Here’s a strong statement: “[The American healthcare system; a private system] is responsible for more deaths of Americans than any terrorist organization.” Ouch. That really stings, but his point rings out loud and clear …