BEING half-Finnish and having lived in Finland for 12 years, I like to think of myself as cognisant of both the good and bad things in Finnish culture and, dare I say it, psyche. Certain aspects of Finnish society have been commented on so often they are hardly worth repeating: Finns are taciturn but great friends when you get know them; people drink a lot here; the naked sauna is weird if you’re not used to it; idle chit-chat annoys the natives. All of these things, like stereotypes in general, are sometimes true, and often not.

For me, there is no country on Earth, I think, I would rather live in. The people are a mixture of the pleasant and the idiotic, although in general there are more of the former. Taxes might be relatively high but the social security and education systems are amongst the best in the world. And I still get goose bumps standing on a pier in the archipelago watching the sun set over the placid Baltic Sea and peaceful beatific islands dotted over the seascape. At such times one could not feel much luckier in life.

But there is one attitude prevalent in Finland that particularly vexes me. Living in One of the World’s Most Democratic Countries™ is surely a cause for celebration, but the blind obedience and reverence felt by most Finns towards the country’s democratic process is, in my opinion, sadly misplaced.

Ask almost any Finn after an election whether they voted and the answer will probably be, “Yes, of course.” It’s the last two words that interest me. Of course, they say, naturally, no question about it, why wouldn’t I? Ask them why they voted and often you’ll hear either, “Because if you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” or, “Because you have to.” Democracy in Finland is valued so highly that people vote because they feel they should, and so that they can moan about things afterwards. The fact of the matter is that not voting can be a stronger political statement than voting for any old candidate, and that Finnish political structures being what they are, it doesn’t really matter who you vote for anyway.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of democracy, but what we have in this country often feels more like democracy-by-numbers. Yes, we have free and open elections, but candidates stand on predictable and interchangeable platforms with little to offer discerning voters. Citizens vote with little knowledge of the issues on which they are balloted. Having a vote once every four years and then enjoying zero say in what happens until the next election doesn’t feel democratic. You can even check out online voting machines to help you decide who to vote for.

Local democracy is often even worse, especially with municipal boundary changes making communes larger and requiring pooled finances to cover wider areas, minimising further the power of local voices. Our district maternity hospital, internationally famous and 100 km from Helsinki, was recently closed on orders from the capital despite universal and vociferous local opposition. The MP and councillors we voted for proved inefficient and unable to listen to their constituents. But we voted for them, so at least we can moan about it, even if no-one listens to us. I think next time I won’t vote so I can say that no-one represents me, simply because no-one really does.

Guys Chillax