The penultimate election debate organised by MTV Channel Three Wednesday evening saw the issue of racial discourse bubble to the surface. Stefan Wallin, Chairman of the Swedish People's Party (RKP) asked True Finns Chair Timo Soini his opinion on the writings of some election candidates, which he thought had a distinctly racist tone. Soini was indignant as he responded that candidates take positions at all levels of the parties. He assured his debate opponent that he himself did not use racist language, but he insisted that immigrant issues needed to be discussed. Soini was also asked why the True Finns is fielding candidates who claim the right to hang flags bearing the Natzi swastika from their balconies. The True Finns Chair responded that he does not approve of the use of the swastika or any similar excesses. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, Centre Party Chairman also claimed to have heard racist comments during the course of the campaign. Centre Party leader Jyrki Katainen and Green League Party Chair Tarja Cronberg called on party leaders to introduce measures to head off racism in election campaigns. Semester Fees for Vocational High Schools?
Party leaders also considered whether students coming from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) should pay fees to attend polytechnics or vocational colleges. Currently there are no fees for non-EEA students enrolled in such institutions. The Centre Party's Katainen supported introducing fees, while Wallin and Cronberg opposed the proposal. They felt that studying is one of the best ways to help foreigners to integrate into Finnish society.
Jutta Urpilainen of the SDP supported the fee in certain cases, for example where a foreign government would pay for the course of study.
