Finland: Legislative Speechmaking in a Changing Parliament

This chapter analyzes plenary debates in the Eduskunta, the unicameral legislature
of Finland. Recent constitutional reforms have strengthened the role of the
Eduskunta, which the findings also reflect. Access to the floor is relatively
unconstrained in Finland, but there is also a strong element of party control
involved. The chapter shows that opposition MPs, small parties, and party leaders
make active use of plenary speeches. The constitutional reform increased the
likelihood of frontbenchers and experienced MPs to deliver speeches. Gender and
partially seniority have little effect on who gets to speak in the plenary, but there
is also quite a significant variation between political parties. Overall, our results
indicate that the plenary has become a more important arena in Finnish politics,
both for the cabinet and the opposition