Performing COVID-19 Control in Finland: Interpretative Topic Modelling and Discourse Theoretical Reading of the Government Communication and Hashtag Landscape

Abstract

This article discusses discursive transformations in the performance of the government and the “hashtag landscape,” studying Twitter discussions and the female-led government of one of the youngest Prime Ministers in the world, Sanna Marin of Finland. Among the countries in Europe, Finland has been, in the period of analysis of March 2020 to January 2021, one of the least affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our datasets from both Twitter discussions and the government’s press conferences in 2020 reveal which were the emerging topics of the pandemic year in Finland and how they were discussed. We observe a move from consensual governmental political control to control in the hands of the authorities and ministers responsible, performing a different basis for the pandemic. On the “hashtag landscape,” facemasks continually emerge as an object of debate, and they also become a point of trust and distrust that the government cannot ignore. In terms of comparative governance, this article also notes how the emergency powers legislation shifted control to the government from regional authorities and municipalities in spring 2020, and by that autumn, those powers were returned to regional and local bodies. We recognize several themes that were contested and the discursive field’s transformations and interplay with the authorities.

Communicating and complying with COVID-19 actions in northernmost Finland

“…Moreover, the shift from governmental to local level in the management of COVID-19 May have increased the pressure on municipalities. Although local coordination was important, a clearer governmental role would have been beneficial [ 6 ]. Operators/politicians at the national level were experienced still to impact on regional/local coordination, and not fully handing over the management to local municipalities.…”

“…from hospital districts, municipalities, and Regional State Administrative Agencies, and they coordinated local COVID-19 actions [ 4 ]. The earlier governmental level of control against the pandemic was transferred to the regional/local level, becoming more decentralised [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Finland: Political Developments and Data in 2020

“…The policy adapted became one of ‘test, track, isolate, and treat to manage and control the pandemic’ (Häyry, 2021: 46). The ministerial presence across the government led by the Social Democratic Party's/ Sosialidemokraattinen puolue (SDP) Sanna Marin was remarkably strong in the government press information sessions in the first wave in spring 2020, while in the second wave in the autumn 2020, the issue was delegated to one minister, Krista Kiuru (SDP), with strategic appearances by the Prime Minister (Koljonen and Palonen, 2021).…”