Presidentti Urho Kekkonen ja vuosien 1970—1975 valtiosääntöuudistushanke

Authors

• Arto Halinen

Abstract

The attitude of President Urho Kekkonen to Finnish constitutional reform is, in this article, associated with his social and political thought, his aims to unite the Finnish people and to prevent serious social and political cleavages in the society. During the 1960s and 1970s Kekkonen emphasized a practical political need for a strong and independent presidency, although he at the same time stressed theoretical (constitutional) superiority of the Parliament. In an actual attempt to reform the Finnish constitution Kekkonen emphasized changes in the interpretation of the constitution, especially in the constitutional norms of property rights. When, however, Kekkonen drew the conclusion, that the continuation of the discussion threatened the carrying out of his objectives of social unity and a reduction of social cleavages, he stopped the preparations for the total constitutional reform. This was possible because Kekkonen maintained a superior power over the main parties. Moreover, there were other reasons as well e. g. serious deficiencies in the preparation of the reform.