Päätöksenteon julkisuus Suomen konsensusjärjestelmässä: tapaustutkimus valtion tuottavuusohjelmasta

The article studies how political decision-making processes are debated in public in the consensual political system of Finland. The article asks how Finnish political institutions, political culture and media system affect the style and volume of public debate. A case study of the State Productivity Programme (2002–2011) is presented. The study shows how the consensus-seeking practices limit publicity. The core decision-makers managed the media in order to avoid publicity during policy negotiations. Elite actors went public mostly in situations where they were unable to achieve their goals through negotiations. The study shows how the coalition partners used the media to
maintain distinct political profiles. However, it is shown that in multi-party governments the ministers can also keep a low public profile when making unpopular decisions. This leaves the Ministry of Finance civil servants a visible role in public. The media agenda was to a great extent dependent on political situations inside the political elite.