The party secretary of the SDP is quitting. What is a party secretary and why should you care? In the Finnish political arena the party secretary is equivalent to the CEO in a corporation. The guy at the helm of the SDP was called Ari Korhonen, a very modest man who had much to be modest about (a Brownie for the person who can correctly attribute that quote without Googling). Ari Korhonen was the party secretary for little over a year, he was not a failure in his job, because to fail at something you at least need to make an attempt. Ari Korhonen made his mark at being good at achieving nothing and doing it completely unnoticed. Not exactly the right kind of attributes for a political figurehead. Testament to Ari’s abilities is the fact that Helsingin Sanomat the national Finnish daily has yet to report his stepping down. In America it would be the equivalent of Rahm Emmanuel beating a hasty retreat and CNN and FOX News not noticing it.
Ari will go back home to where he didn’t appear from; Turku. He will take on the job of Tero Hirvilammi, Ari’s fellow SDP member who was forced out for beating his disabled wife. Ari is getting the job because it is earmarked for a SDP member. A continuing Finnish form of political cronyism where ability has nothing to do with the jobs that are paid for with tax payer money.
Tags: Ari Korhonen, cronyism, Demarit, SDP
