Arab News | Finland’s government survives confidence vote after Israel visit row

HELSINKI: Finland’s government on Friday survived a parliamentary vote of confidence called over the government’s Middle East policy following a criticized visit to Israel by the defense minister.

Opposition parties have accused the right-wing government of internal policy differences and inconsistency on the Middle East, leading the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to call for a motion of no confidence against the government.

A motion of no confidence had also been tabled against Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.

Hakkanen won the confidence vote by 114 votes to 61, while the government survived by 93 votes to 62.

The criticism followed Hakkanen’s September visit to Lebanon and Israel, where he met Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and discussed defense cooperation, including Finland’s acquisition of the David’s Sling air-defense system under an agreement signed in November 2023.

Katz, known for making controversial remarks, said in September it was only a matter of time before his country would “finish the job” in Gaza and move to force out its two million Palestinians.

Finnish opposition parties have also criticized Hakkanen for not meeting with Palestinan representatives.

It remained unclear “whether Minister Hakkanen raised Israel’s violations of international law during the trip”, SDP said in a statement last Sunday.

The defense minister, meanwhile, has argued his visit was necessary to safeguard Finland’s security — an assessment opposition parties have taken issue with.

Hakkanen had canceled his participation in the Joint Expeditionary Force defense ministers’ meeting held in Iceland on Friday due to the confidence vote.