Helsinki must grow into an internationally attractive metropolis. In the Helsinki of our dreams, people from all over the world can easily visit, work, move around, and pursue entrepreneurship.

In the best city in the world, life is lived in all its richness, with room to fail or start anew. Helsinki is a safe place to fall in love, build relationships, and start a family if desired. The best city in the world also provides communities for those living alone or seeking direction.

Investments that enhance attractiveness should focus on smooth transportation and housing, as well as internationally notable cultural projects.

It is the responsibility of politicians to ensure that landmarks like the Central Library Oodi and universally accessible services are realized in Helsinki. For instance, the upcoming Design Museum should aim to be the best in its category globally. The redevelopment of Elielinaukio must be completed with distinction to create a world-class city center for the capital.

Helsinki ensures its thriving future by prioritizing children and youth – when necessary, even above other demographic groups.

The children of today’s Helsinki will, in the coming decades, repair our streets, care for us in our final moments, and solve the greatest challenges of our time in innovative companies. Instead of short-term quick wins, Helsinki must play the long game.

Equality of opportunities for children and youth is best promoted through early childhood education and primary schools. Adequate and appropriate learning materials, combating segregation, and teacher resources will be key themes in the upcoming council term.

We must be able to imagine, but above all, implement a better future. The planning of the city's operations must be sustainable from both an economic and environmental perspective.

Helsinki can be a trailblazer in how a modern city reduces its emissions and creates new nature with respect. In construction projects, circular economy principles and extending the lifespan of buildings must guide all decision-making.

Helsinki's municipal finances are in decent shape but are weakening. The upcoming council has the opportunity to ensure that the living standards of Helsinki residents do not decrease in the future due to municipal tax increases. This requires long-term planning and the ability to focus on what is essential.

We need more new ideas and fewer justifications for how things have always been done. Creativity thrives in freedom, not in rules and regulations. A vibrant city, where its residents live happy and authentic lives, must not be constrained by bureaucracy or nostalgia.

I want Helsinki to have inviting spaces for its residents. Playgrounds, pedestrian streets, terraces, outdoor concerts, ski tracks, and shopping opportunities. Decision-making should create a broader freedom to experiment and try. What if we revitalized the city center by allowing instead of prohibiting?

Now is the time to prioritize the basics and acknowledge that things have an order of importance. Many Finns say they are happy taxpayers. I would hope that more would say they are happy to bear responsibility.

When people who are doing well take responsibility for their own lives, our shared resources are better able to support those who do not have that opportunity.

The basics of a good life start with having a home. Therefore, in the upcoming council term, Helsinki must prioritize tackling homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion, and if necessary, reduce spending on comforts aimed at those who are already doing well – which are less important.

Civility is much more than education, libraries, and culture – although all of these are irreplaceable cornerstones of civilization. Civility is also the ability to meet one another and accept differences. Civility is care.

My politics stem from a positive view of humanity, where people are fundamentally good and worthy of trust. As the world’s most civilized city, Helsinki combats racism and hate speech by preventing the segregation of neighborhoods. The growth of social inequalities is aimed to be reversed by ensuring the quality and even distribution of regional services.