MARKKANEN IN THE MILITARY: Lauri Markkanen, who plays basketball in Utah Jazz in NBA (and just won a Most Improved Player award) is probably currently Finland’s biggest sports star abroad. That’s why it is big news, both home and abroad, that this up-and-comer has now entered Finland’s mandatory military service.
Yes, Finland has a mandatory military service, and the expectation is everyone does their part. His options would be army or the civilian job alternative; Markkanen, like most young men, chose the former.
Now, of course, in PRACTICE, if you wanted to avoid your service in a situation like Markkanen, you would find a way. Such as becoming an American citizen and giving up your Finnish citizenship (and getting deferments until then).
However, doing your military service continues to be a part of the Finnish culture in ways that may be quite understand in nations without a similar culture around this topic. Markkanen considered his choice to be obvious, even natural.
His military service won’t be quite of the usual kind, as he will perform his duties in the Finnish Defense Forces Sports School, a specific institution set up for top-level Finnish athletes to perform their service. He will be given ample time to practice basketball. It will not be NBA-level practice, but it will do.
His service will also probably be done in two parts throughout the next years, not in one go as is the usual - so he will be able to play during season in Utah Jazz, no problem. However, he will go through all the normal Finnish military things like shooting a rifle, crawling in mud, crawling in snow, and crawling in other places, as well. He will be trained as a recon troop, as the FDF Sports School does.
Still, there are of course other benefits. Athletes also benefit from public image, and a thing like this is guaranteed to improve Markkanen’s public image, both in Finland and in the States, too. Naturally, his service will of course also be beneficial to FDF, as it demonstrates very concretely the high Finnish commitment to national defense and service to country.
CENTRE PARTY READY FOR OPPOSITION: There were some more governmental feelers and speculations last week, nothing major, but one thing that is fairly certain is that Centre Party, previously uncomfortably in Marin’s center-left government and suffering major losses in the election, will be going into opposition.
Centre held a party council meeting last week, with chair Annika Saarikko confirming that not only will this desire to go to opposition be altered, she will also not be resigning from her role as a chair.
The new, more combative Saarikko called for election winners (i.e., center-right National Coalition and right-wing populist Finns Party, until now in opposition) to form a government and implement their election promises, like bringing the price of gas and electricity down just like that.
Centre’s other politicians have backed her, many already behaving like The Finns Party is in government and going after them for (probably) going back on many of their election promises. It's pretty likely that if the presumed right-wing government comes to being, this will offer ample opportunities for just that, since The Finns have indicated they will compromise on just about anything if they get new immigration restrictions.
Of course, jury's still out on whether they will, in fact, manage to build that coalition, or if PM-to-be Orpo will have to try to cobble one up with the Social Democrats, leaving The Finns to opposition - not an optimal scenario for the Centre, which will then find it hard to make anyone pay attention to them, even harder than 2011-2015, which was the last time this happened.
In other news, there's been controversy over kids and drag shows and a documentary on the two subjects (which actually started a week before but I forgot to mention), a citizen's initiative to legalize cannabis reaches 50,000 signatures on 4/20 (it's not expected to pass once the parliament actually votes on it, birth rates continue to fall, and HBO is making a miniseries on Marin's government, concentrating on the five female party chairs.