Suomalaisen politiikan tavoista

Viime päivien poliittiset tapahtumat eivät ainakaan pitäisi tuottaa suurta ihmetystä hieman vanhempien äänestäjien keskuudessa, joille pitäisi olla vielä muistissa huhut kassakaappisopimuksista sekä muista ehkä itsekkäinäkin yleisesti pidetyistä toiminntatavoista. Ja nuorempien äänestäjien osalta voitaneen todeta, että ovathan tapahtumat olleet perin erikoiset eivätkä ainakaan ole mitenkään suuresti lisänneet mielestäni politiikan tekijöiden yleistä uskottavuutta maassamme, varsinkaan ammattina. Tosiasia lienee, että myös politiikanteko liikkuu nykyajan mukaan ja käsittääkseni mukana nykyään on usein oman edun tavoittelu yhteisen edun sijaan, tai siltä se ainakin vahvasti vaikuttaa.

Tänään en voi olla kovinkaan ylpeä kansalaisena suomalaisen politiikan teosta, mutta herättäväthän valitettavat tapahtumat ainakin tosiasioiden pariin, meidät kaikki politiikkaa seuraavat.

The Road for the EU

Regardless of whether CDU/CSU or SPD wins the elections in Germany it is already obvious that the future direction of the development of the EU will be chosen together mainly by the German and French Leaders but still together with those in the EU who want to join their forces with the Germans and the French people.

Macron’s win to become the next president of France makes it a litlle bit easier to start developing the EU again. As we have said earlier it is important for the existence of the EU itself to go further with the development of the said organization.

The question is not only about the defence capability of the EU or its foreign politics but even more about the value added to the citizens of the Member States of the EU. The citizens of the EU must feel that they get surplus by being citizens of the said organization.

It is time to proceed in the development of the whole EU at least in the following areas:

1. The common minister of Finance in the EU;

2. The enhancement of factual defence cooperation between the Member States of the EU;

3. The new definitions of work, earnings and social security with regard to the robotization/digitalisation of societies;

4. The means to tackle with the migration of people; and

5. The sustainable development of nutrition.

The future roles

China is playing a vital and growing role in the contemporary world politics. At the same time Chinese people are quite reluctant to act as the world leader nation. The situation was the opposite earlier and we’ve had at least a fair share of different wannabee-leaders of the world lately, including both individuals and nations. However, we have to ask ourselves today: Is the direction of the tide changing now? With this phenomenon I mean the situation where the US at least as regarded from the point of view of its Administration seems to speak for isolationist/nationalist/protectionist politics and China seems to talk more for example for global trade. Where would such a change of priorities leave the EU, and what about the relationship with Russia?

I will answer the following three questions shortly and as I see the situation:
1. Is the direction of the tide of world politics changing? Yes, definitely, the system change of world politics is taking place just now, but as a small country, we have to be alert and prepared for more changes of the direction and even regarding the contents and the future values of the global system. Let us keep our eyes wide open and see first where the tide is running from and where to.

2. What will Russia’s role be in this change? In my opinion Russia is acting pretty realistically and naturally it would like to have its say in the future direction of world politics. However, as always, an important part will be taken by those who are in control of investments worldwide. Thus, the politicians may not be sole leaders of the global system and neither can investors be. The new system may only be controlled by a common cooperation between the world leaders, including setting up a new value base together.

3. And what will China’s new role be? The very alarming matter is the rapid growth of the debt of China. At the same time we are well aware about the fact that the US is indebted huge sums towards China. The world is therefore very much dependent on how these to subjects may cooperate.

Last but not least let me say few words also about the future path of the EU. We in the EU are now at the crossroads due to many different matters – the brexit, the new direction of Trump administration, continued sanction politics and so on. At the moment I would argue that the EU will become a stronger part of the global development than it has ever been. But such a path will require that the EU must learn to take care more of its own values and priorities and for example we must be able to defend ourselves and our values de facto, too.

The Use of Common Knowledge

Unfortunately, it looks like many people today prefer the governing by Local Heroes instead of Local Political Actors. We simply do not need these people who think that by local actions the world will be saved and they will control the change. The fact is that they have no ablity to succeed, and this is due to the development. We may not go backwards, the only direction we are able to take is forward. We hav lived in the time of globalization and now we are looking for the system change in the running of international relations, and this system change will be based upon the historical facts, not dreaming of that the history didn’t take place.

Let us believe in, that we may develop even from the so-called localists global thinkers. I hope this will take place also in the US, Canada, the EU, Russia, China, Japan and elsewhere. We still have opportunity to do this. And we do not need to solve problems by force but by using together the common knowledge.

Local heroes, do we want them and for what?

In an independent world, meaning today’s world where nations, entities, peoples and states depend upon each others’ acts, it may be right to state that the sovereignty of the subjects of international law is more or less covered by the relativity of the processes of these actors. However, these processes must as well be dynamic enough in order to cope with the current constant changes and developments of the international system. In other words: are we capable of changing our behaviour rapidly enough and in the correct direction in order to be able to run the world?

We should bear in mind three elementary basic facts:
1. We are plenty cleverer together than trying to act alone;
2. The international problems we are facing today can be solved solely together; and
3. The system problems of international co-existence and co-operation are becoming extremely difficult to solve with only national capabilities in use.

We may have a plenty of future LOCAL heroes, but global problems need thinkers and doers which base their action on the well-being of everyone on the Earth

Further highlights about the new system change

We all can feel that there is a fundamental change taking now place in the system of international relations. However, most of us don’t still, at least officially, acknowledge where this immediate change will take us. Thus, we will have several incoming elections where the voters must elect their candidates in a way without knowing about how these newly elected representatives will act in the near future. Is this correct towards those who will be voting and those who will be elected?

I have only three points to discuss this matter shortly here:

1. Let me remind you about history: it has occurred many times that representatives of a State have had to make ad-hoc decisions without consulting with the electorate in advance about a possible outcome of the negotiations. This is anyways acceptable as the representatives have been given the power to make decisions they find most suitable and favourable in the said situation by the electorate.

2. We have the populist side and the liberal (globalist), free democracy side, of which I belong to the latter one. Let us still approve that even globalism has its negative sides, as well as so-called free market economy. If we will choose free market economy, as an endgame solution, we will end in a global situation where the power is in very few hands and the liberalism as well as the freedom to choose and the freedom of change will be gone.

3. Altogether, at the moment it looks like all the systems adopted solely will lead to an unacceptable result and therefore I still would prefer that the world allowed different systems and different ideas to learn from each other.

And, my answer to my own question is: It is correct by the representatives that have been voted to make decisions, to do as they find best, if this is the meaning of the electorate. It is as well correct by the electorate to let the elected representatives to take necessary decisions in case the electorate has not reserved to itself a sole voting right in certain matters or in certain intervals regarding specific issues (for example the right to choose a president in Finland every six years) or in case this right has been given to the electorate by the elected representatives or by the national law.Finally, there are still plenty of matters to be reserved to decisions by those who really have the capacity for that.

The System Change in International Relations is taking place just now

The EU will have its next leaders’ summit on Friday, 3rd of February 2017 on the island of Malta. So far so good. However, since the political global situation is very tight at the moment, it is more than advisable that the EU leaders will also make good decisions in this summit and such decisions that will also be carried out swiftly.

The possibilities of the EU to become a greater power in the global system are imminent and so are the threats to become a midget in the same theatre. Therefore, there exists a clear need of the Member States of the EU to form a strong and trustworthy Cooperative Body of the EU to be able to act both in peace time and at war and in crises.

In fact the EU needs its own common military power strenghtened clearly. We might no longer be dependent solely on the powers of the Nato and/or peacetime cooperation. The EU countries should together unite their powers, in order to be in fact a reasonable and trustworthy power by itself in Europe.

In case the EU cannot by itself form a trustworthy world power it may be either divided or recognized only as a regional semi-power.

We must also recognize the multipolarity of the world today. There are several great powers in the word today both economically and militarily: regarding economics only the great powers are at least: The EU, the USA, China and Japan; and regarding the military powers the great ones are at least: The USA, the Nato, Russia, China and the UK. Even the EU could be a great military power in case its forces were common and would work jointly under a common leadership, both civilian and military.

At the moment the USA has to recognize that it has already lost a great deal of its military global power de facto and that it may gain some of it back only by adjusting its behaviour towards its neighbours and rivals. Thus it could be advisable to understand the real politics of the world and accept the power of Russia regarding Crimea, as well as making a non-enlargement treaty of Nato together with other Members of the Nato with Russia and at the same time reduce the amount of nuclear weapons worldwide. There could be more steps towards more nuclearfree world inclusive e.g. nuclearfree area of the South China Sea and of the Baltic Sea area and so on.