Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) says he would make the same decision again, after he was criticised for skipping an international meeting to celebrate his wife's birthday.

He was replaced by President Alexander Stubb at the meeting. Finland normally sends Prime Ministers to meetings of the organisation, in line with the agreed division of responsibilities between the President and the government.

This time Orpo was on holiday, having changed the dates of his leave in June.

He said on Tuesday that he had discussed with officials and it had become clear that the President could stand in for the premier in these situations.

"It was a meeting touching on foreign and security policy, so it was quite natural that the President of the republic participated," he told reporters at the start of a meeting of National Coalition Party ministers in Rovaniemi.

Diplomatic dance

Orpo denied there was any kind of problem with the division of responsibilities or so called "two plate problem", as issues around the division of responsibilities between president and prime minister have been described in Finland.

Since Urho Kekkonen's 26-year rule as president, Finland has gradually moved to a more parliamentary form of government with the Prime Minister and government taking powers formerly exercised by the president.

When President Tarja Halonen attended some EU summits, it was referred to in Finland as a problem of two dinner plates — most countries were only represented by one leader, while Finland had two.

The EU has been a prime ministerial sphere for Finland, and while the European Political Community is not a formal EU body, the PM has represented Finland there since it was founded in 2022.

Opposition MPs Elisa Gebhard (SDP) and Tytti Tuppurainen (SDP) criticised the move to send Stubb to this summer's meeting, as they claimed it weakened MPs' right to hear more about the trip. Gebhard even told Iltalehti that it was "against the spirit of the constitution".

Orpo said on Tuesday that this was an exceptional case and he would attend future meetings.

Apologies for secrecy

Stubb was also standing in for the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Orpo said that his reasons for skipping that meeting were personal.

"I put my family first," said Orpo. "We were able to have a peaceful spell with the family that also coincided with my dear wife's birthday."

"This job is demanding. It is also challenging for the family and loved ones. It was worth it, for the chance for us to be together. I would make the same decision again."

Orpo was asked why he hadn't come clean about his wife's birthday coinciding with the meeting immediately when asked.

"I thought that if I say there are family reasons involved, that would have been enough," said Orpo. "In this case, too, family reasons cover a lot of things."

STT had asked for messages about the decision to switch out Orpo for Stubb, and was denied by the Prime Minister's office.

Orpo said that this was decided by his office in line with normal practice about individuals' holidays, and that once he discovered it was a matter for discussion he immediately approved publication of the messages and continued publication of any similar messages in future.

He apologised for "some kind of feeling of a cover-up".

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