The Economist - USA (2019-10-05)

48 Europe The EconomistOctober 5th 2019

F

ordecades, FinnshadtheirSaturday

ritual.Theywouldhavea sauna,then

watchthelotterydrawsontv. They

wouldneverfeelbadaboutlosing,be-

causetheyknewthatthegamingpro-

ceedswouldbechannelledtogood

causes.Thingshavechangeda bit,but

gambling,likevoting,isstillwidely

considereda civicduty.

Nowadays,arounda thirdofadults

gambleeveryweek.A surveyin 2016

foundthat83%hadgambledatleastonce

inthepastyear.Thelotterywaslegalised

aslongagoasthe1920stodiscourage

FinnsfromplayingSwedishlotteries,

andfromsendingmoneytotheirformer

rulers.Afterthesecondworldwar,foot-

ballpoolswereseenasa waytofostera

senseofunityandthwartthethreatof

communism.

Veikkaus,thestateagencythatholds

theexclusiverighttooperateallgam-

blinginFinland,iswellthoughtof.In

2017 itsearningsofover€1bn($1.1bn)

wereredistributed,halfofthemto

sports,physicaleducation,science,arts

andyouthworks,andmostoftherestto

healthandsocialwelfare.

Everypathhasitspuddle,however.In

thecaseofFinland,it isa dangerous

addictiontogambling,intwosenses.

TheFinnishstatehascometorelyon

gamblingmoney.Theformercentre-

rightgovernment,formedin2015,

slashedthebudgetsofsocialandhealth-

careservices,intheexpectationthat

Veikkauswouldhelpmakeupthediffer-

encethroughbackinggoodcauses.Gam-

blingrevenuesrosebyover30%between

2006 and2016.

Atthesametime,3.3%oftheadult

populationisreckonedtohavea gam-

blingproblem,comparedwithunder1%

inneighbouringNorway.Halfofthe

state’sgamblingrevenuecomesfroma

mere5%oftheplayers.

Norwayhastakenactiontocurbthe

numberofitsproblemgamblersby

introducingmandatoryidentification

forallgames.Thishelpsexcludeminors

fromgambling.Todate,Finlandhas

doneverylittle.Thatmaynowbeabout

tochange.Followinga publicoutcryover

a controversialradioadperceivedto

encouragegambling,Veikkaussaidin

Augustthatit wouldestablishanethics

board.Theprimeministerhashintedat

reform,andanonlinepetitionaskingfor

theremovalofsomeofthecountry’s

20,000slotmachinesfromstoresand

restaurants,amongotherplaces,has

garneredover30,000signatures.Finns

mayendupspendinga bitmoretimein

thesauna.

Unluckynumbers

GamblinginFinland

HELSINKI

Finlandhasa problemwithgambling

F

ew peopleexpected the European Com-

mission’s proposed new team to emerge

intact from the confirmation hearings that

started in the European Parliament this

week. Claiming the scalp of at least one as-

piring commissioner has become a tradi-

tion for the eu’s elected legislature. But the

decision of a parliamentary committee to

rule out two nominees before the full hear-

ings had even started, an unprecedented

move, suggests that the parliament’s vet-

ting process will be even spikier this time

round. By the time The Economist went to

press the fate of three more nominees, in-

cluding France’s Sylvie Goulard (a close as-

sociate of President Emmanuel Macron)

appeared uncertain.

The first casualty was Laszlo Trocsanyi,

Hungary’s former justice minister. In a se-

cret ballot the parliament’s legal-affairs

committee, charged with poring over the

nominees’ financial declarations before

hearings begin, declared him unfit to be

commissioner. The committee’s digging

revealed that a law firm bearing his name

had been contracted to provide legal ser-

vices to Hungary’s state-owned nuclear

power plant while he was minister. Mr

Trocsanyi says that he no longer owns

shares in the firm, adding that it had not

won any new government contracts during

his ministerial term. But parliamentarians

also pounced upon the appointment of one

of the firm’s owners as his personal adviser

in the justice ministry.

Eyebrows were raised higher when it

emerged that the power plant’s main con-

tractor was Russia’s state-owned nuclear

energy corporation. This is not Mr Trocsa-

nyi’s first flirtation with Moscow: as justice

minister, he ignored an American request

to extradite a Russian father-and-son

arms-dealing duo. Instead, he sent the pair

back home, where they were promptly re-

leased. As his portfolio, enlargement poli-

cy, was supposed to include cultivating

diplomatic ties in the western Balkans,

Russia’s backyard, parliamentarians fret-

ted about a conflict of interest.

Rovana Plumb, Romania’s candidate for

the transport portfolio, was also sum-

moned before the committee after failing

to declare two loans worth nearly €1m

($1.1m). One was intended to cover a dona-

tion to her party, whose former leader was

imprisoned in May for putting party loyal-

ists on the public payroll. Her aspiration to

become Europe’s transport commissioner

was dashed when she could not explain

how she intended to pay back her debts.

She strongly denies any wrongdoing.

At first, the leaders of Hungary and Ro-

mania stood by their candidates. Viktor Or-

ban said Mr Trocsanyi’s only sin was with-

holding support for Brussels-backed

proposals to share responsibility for refu-

gees. Viorica Dancila blamed Romania’s

opposition for mounting a character assas-

sination. But Ursula von der Leyen, the new

commission’s German president-elect,

swiftly demanded that new candidates be

picked, a request both prime ministers

have now met.

As the two rejects hail from the parlia-

ment’s centre-right and socialist groups,

rumours swirled that a liberal, preferably

from western Europe, would be next. In her

hearing on October 2nd, parliamentarians

took Ms Goulard to task over an ongoing

probe into the alleged use of European Par-

liament funds to pay party employees.

Equally incendiary was her role as a paid

adviser to an American think-tank.

Along with the nominees from Poland

and Sweden, she faces another round of

questioning. Her supporters suspect she is

being scapegoated to pay back Mr Macron

for thwarting the centre-right group

leader’s ambition of running the commis-

sion. The process could get bloodier yet. 7

Two nominees fall at the first hurdle.

Will others follow?

The European Commission

Parliamentary

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