A new government took office in Finland in April, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's second and the country's seventieth.

The new government is a majority coalition formed by the Centre Party, the conservative National Coalition Party, the Greens, and the Swedish People's Party. Altogether there are a total of 20 ministers.

The values uniting the blue-green Government Programme are a balance between humans and nature, responsibility and freedom, caring and rewarding, and education and competence.

More labour

The objective of the Government's economic policy is to promote economic growth by improving productivity and employment. That will mean strengthening the availability of labour, expertise and innovativeness, and reforming economic structures.

The Government will be aiming resolutely to strengthen the supply of labour, improve the meeting of its supply and demand, and to reduce unemployment on a lasting basis to less than five per cent. The aim is to find between 80,000 and 100,000 new jobs during the term of office.

The Government will also be acting to improve the preconditions for entrepreneurship and create a more favourable entrepreneurial environment, the objective being to provide entrepreneurship and innovative activities with the world's best operating environment in Finland.

A look at innovations

The Government will be reforming its innovation scheme and increasing its resources. Primary consideration will be given to the education, research and technology policies. Besides technological innovations, the Government lays stress on the significance of business, design and organizational innovations.

The aim is to increase funding for research and development to four per cent of the gross domestic product in the Government's term of office, with particular emphasis on the financing of the service sector.

According to the Government Programme, Finland can be a strong international player in, for example, environmental technology produced at the corporate level. This will be ensured by investing in research and development and the commercial promotion of renewable energy and other environmental technology.

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