Finnish government wins no-confidence vote

Finland's coalition government won a clear victory in a vote of confidence over political funding in Parliament on Thursday, but pressure mounted on the prime minister over a scandal involving building materials for his house.

Lawmakers in the 200-member assembly voted 117-27 in favor of the majority center-right coalition, with 56 abstentions.

The no-confidence vote, sponsored by opposition left-wing parties, was over alleged irregularities in accepting election and party funding from youth and sports foundations by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's Center Party.

The ballot in Parliament followed months of furor over malfeasance in election funding by most parties _ including those in the opposition. There have been claims of corruption, wrongdoing and ignorance.

Vanhanen, meanwhile, faced a separate allegation made in a television program Monday that accused him of accepting free building materials for his house.

Both issues have gained much public attention in Finland, a small Nordic country that has long been described in international surveys as one of the least corrupt in the world.

The scandal started with the Center Party, and personal allegations about Vanhanen's own affairs further tarnished his reputation and image, making him an easy target.

The main opposition Social Democrats _ backed by the Left Alliance _ demanded his resignation, claiming the government had lost credibility and could not function normally.

But they too have been marred.

In a decades-old practice, Finnish politicians have not had to declare campaign and party funding.

But it has been an open secret that trade unions liberally donate funds to the Social Democrats, partly from money unions gather from membership fees. Industrial and employers' organizations have generously backed the conservatives, and agricultural and forest interest groups have contributed to the centrists.

"If there is going to be some damage here, then it really has been self-inflicted," said Santeri Eriksson of the Finnish branch of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. "It has been known for long that Finnish election and party funding in no way measures up to European standards."

Eriksson said that although international organizations had criticized Finland about its funding system, "it has taken a really long time before things are being corrected."

Last year, after the funding issue began to gain notice in the media and among the public, the government promised to change the system by preparing new legislation. Politicians also scrambled to announce sources of funding with promises to pay back organizations, companies, funds and foundations.

Vanhanen has denied claims he received free timber from a construction company for the building of his house, as alleged by an anonymous source in national broadcaster YLE TV2's "Eyewitness" program.

He said that "there was nothing" to the allegations and challenged YLE reporters to clearly outline the claims.

But it may be to late. The Ilta-Sanomat tabloid on Thursday dubbed the scandal "Lumbergate," and other media reported rebellion in the ranks of the Center Party.

A leading political observer said that after Thursday's vote, the centrists likely will begin to seek a new leader to improve their image.

"They will support him (in the vote) so that the government doesn't collapse, but after the vote the political games will begin," said Jan Sundberg, professor of political science at the University of Helsinki. "The Center Party will realize that something has to be done to clear the air and improve its image."