The Finnish Prime Minister is at odds with the Chancellor of Justice over an alleged conflict of interest surrounding election campaign funding.

PM Matti Vanhanen has emphatically stated that he does not see that any election campaign contributions are considered automatic conflicts of interest for local councillors, parliamentarians or ministers who are all able to discuss the matter openly with the donor. Vanhanen also stated that involvement with a particular foundation does not constitute a conflict of interest.

The issue has come under media scrutiny following questions raised over the authorisation of a Finnish Slot Machine Association grant by Vanhanen which contributed towards his election campaign.

Vanhanen claimed that the issue was discussed with Paavo Nikula, the Chancellor of Justice, in 2004 after the receipt of a grant proposal from the Finnish Slot Machine Association to be made to the national youth housing federation. Nikula, now retired, has denied any such conversation but his memory has been questioned following his 2007 cerebral haemorrhage. His replacement, Jaakko Jonkka, differs in his views on the matter arguing that members of parliament are under different legal positions than government ministers when it comes to the issue. “The idea that [campaign funding] does not automatically establish a conflict of interest applies to Members of Parliament,” Jonkka stated.

Helsingin Sanomat reports that Vanhanen has used the government report to parliament last year, when it argued that: “Receiving election support as such does not usually put anyone in a conflict of interest in a legal sense,” to deflect any questions into his handling of campaign funding which have also been investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).