Turku tram vote swings on four councillors’ last-minute decisions

The Turku city council approved the tram investment by 36 votes to 31 on Monday, reversing expectations that the project would narrowly fail, Yle reports. Four councillors made unexpected decisions that proved decisive.

National party member breaks ranks

The most dramatic move came from National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) councillor Elina Ruohonen, who had stated in a Yle survey just last week that she opposed the tram. She announced her support during the meeting itself, drawing a audible reaction from the chamber.

“A few hours before the council meeting I had already weighed the matter properly. In the end I genuinely had no valid reason left to oppose it,” Ruohonen told Yle after the meeting. She said years of planning work, into which millions had already been spent, had helped shift her view, describing the prolonged back-and-forth as “dithering.”

Ruohonen, serving her first term on the council, said her group issued her a formal warning for voting differently from what she had told them she would do. “This was an absolutely enormous risk on my part. At least I can stand behind my words, and I’m not voting a certain way just because I’m afraid of what happens in the next election,” she said.

SDP veteran follows group line despite personal opposition

The Social Democratic Party group had decided to vote collectively in favour of the tram, though it was deeply divided on the issue. It had been anticipated that as many as seven SDP councillors might break with the group position.

Among them, veteran councillor Timo Nurmio, who had campaigned against the tram during local elections, ultimately chose to follow the group decision. “I have been in the group for 37 years and always gone along with its decisions. I have pushed through many things myself. Now that I am on the losing side, why would I do differently this time,” he said. Nurmio stressed that he still personally opposes the tram on cost grounds, and said he does not believe party colleagues who did rebel against the group position should be punished.

Left Alliance councillor’s position was unknown until the vote

Left Alliance councillor Muhiadin Hersi was the only member whose position had not been publicly known ahead of the meeting. He informed his group before the session that he would support the tram, saying he had made up his mind the previous evening.

“Right now our public transport solution is a complete mess. If the tram is rejected, a solution is pushed back five to ten years while we wait for new assessments,” Hersi said. He added that he would have been prepared to support a so-called “superbus” alternative, but said no comprehensive study had been prepared on that option to support a decision. Hersi said he faced pressure from both opponents and supporters of the tram, but made his decision independently.

Absent opponent replaced by supporter

The balance shifted further before the meeting even began when tram opponent Terhi Vörlund-Wallenius, sitting as an independent affiliated with the Greens, announced she would not attend. Her place was taken by Green substitute councillor Matti Vähä-Heikkilä, who voted in favour of the tram.

Vörlund-Wallenius posted a photograph on Facebook on Monday afternoon showing the entrance to a private medical clinic, without further explanation. She told Yle she had been in another city due to a close family member’s health situation, and declined to give further details. “The council’s decision was not in line with my wishes or my opinion, but it was made democratically, so we live with it. And fortunately the result did not ultimately depend on my vote,” she said.