“Would you be interested in politics?” That was a question I got asked a while ago when the political parties were gathering candidates for the general election.

As much as I have been interested in politics, I am honestly not sure if I would have what it takes to be able to be an MP and deal with all the things that come with it. Now that I have followed one candidate’s journey on two general elections and she didn’t get enough votes on both occasions, and yet she campaigned hard… I think that you need to have a celebrity status nowadays to be able to get that far that it takes.

But maybe it is not about being a celebrity. Maybe it still is, as it should be, about presenting yourself and doing the groundwork until the next general election. Put your mark on the world between the elections so that people remember you when they go to the voting booth and actually will put your candidate number on the paper?

I know that, in order for me to even try to succeed in the next general election, I would have to start now, have my blog in Finnish and to address the problems in Finland from the Finnish point of view – and honestly I am not sure if I want to do something like that.

As with many things we humans have in common, one is the uncomfortability to want to see bad things around us. Finns are not exempt from this trait, and, honestly, maybe we are too good with it as Finland was just named the happiest country on Earth for the sixth year in running. I know that this title is based on several socio-economical factors and general safety in the country, but what about the people?

I dare say that we are, in general, quite content with life, but the recent turmoil in the world has had an effect on our wellbeing. And the bad thing? The governments we have had seem to have no interest in that. The shortage of nurses has been there since the 1990s, and it has steadily grown worse, until now, when public health care is in such a crisis that some are even warning about its collapse. Yet nothing has been done.

Whilst Spain lowered down the tax on food during the war in Ukraine, and earlier on gave direct incentives on fuel, Finland has yet to give anything to people to help her citizens to survive to massive inflation. So yes, there would be plenty to be done.

And because of the disillusionment about the current political field, I didn’t vote for the first time since I turned 18 and was given the right to vote. In light of that, would I be a good candidate for any political party as I don’t believe in the messages they are sending out to garner votes for themselves?

Now that the general election is over and done until 2027, Finland is facing a right-wing government with two winning parties that want to cut benefits from those who already are the poorest, students, and especially immigrants. The second largest party wants nothing but to close the borders, and their mantra is “Finland for Finns.” We will see where this leads the happiest nation towards.

As you can see, I am interested in politics and the well-being of people, but would I be able to make a difference in politics on the grander scale? Maybe I am happier spending time writing my blog, concentrating on my book project, and looking out from the bus window towards the blue Mediterranean Sea.