Correspondents' Correspondence

...a voting Social Democractic member of Parliament who is sympathetic to much of what Bjorklund has to say, points out that the Soviets are wary of new ideas on the Finnish Left because they do not want to risk rocking the boat Moscow has supported non-Socialist governments in Finland when they seemed to best guarantee stability, he observes, and now approves of the Center-Left coalition embracing the Communists for the same reason He agrees with Bjorklund that the Soviet Union simply cannot be ignored "It is a presence in Finnish politics, a factor everybody takes into account and tries to preempt ' Both men heatedly object to the term "Finlandization" in the pejorative sense that it is employed by Western journalists And Tuomioja contends that, like himself, many on the Left are increasingly dissatisfied with having to accept government policies tolerating high unemployment based on "reaction and monetarism " He wonders if the Left should not go into opposition and let the Right govern, "since their line is de facto policy " Such a step, of course, would shatter the governing coalition Moscow has favored No Conservative in Helsinki will openly declare that his party, the major opposition bloc, would substantially change Finland's "special relationship" with the USSR Nonetheless, Moscow would look with mistrust upon a government that did not include the Left On the other hand, says Tuomioja, an exclusively Left-wing government "is someting the Soviets are not likely to think well of Thev didn't like the idea in France, and would like it less m Finland " He speculates that the emergence of real democratic Socialism in Finland would upset the Kremlin no less than the Prague Spring, and that actively maintaining good relations with the USSR would still be critical if a tate similar to Czechoslovakia's were to be avoided Bjorklund sums up the Lett's present stance this way "We are trying to maintain the stable position ol Finland and to further a political development that makes it possible to bring the democratic process from politics to the economy " The extent to which Finland can carry out Bjorklund's vision will depend not only on the Finnish electorate but, again, on the willingness of the Soviet Union to allow change on its borders Yet at this point, interestingly, several uncertainties make it difficult to predict the impact of Eurocommunism on Finnish politics To begin with, the political, if not physical demise of 78-year-old President Kekkonen, a pillar of postwar Finnish policy, is expected within the next few years In addition, Soviet President Leonid I Brezhnev and other top Kremlin leaders are not far behind Kekkonen on the actuarial tables In the end, therefore, it may be Death's unpredictable timing more than any other factor that casts Finland's political future —Juris Ka-za Off the Bottle Budapest—Hungary's per capita consumption of alcohol is the second highest in the world (after Czechoslovakia), and the authorities are trying to do something about it Concerned by lagging industrial discipline and productivity, they have taken a series of drastic steps to make it more difficult to get a drink in this nation of over 10 million people The country's problems with the bottle are related to industrialization Reliable social statistics are hard to come by in Central Europe, where sociologists are regarded with suspicion by the authorities lest they reveal ideologically unsuitable trends But it is known that during the past quarter-century—as millions of landless peasants poured into the rapidly growing cities to form the first generation of urban labor in the service of new industries—imbibing habits here underwent a fundamental change Wine drinking, traditionally moderate and usually confined to the home, declined Hungarians began switching to hard liquor, quaffed in public (including working sites) and in alarming quantities So far, tipsy workers have been a danger only to themselves and their colleagues But Hungary is about to embark on its second industrial revolution—this one involving sophisticated technologies If it is to succeed, higher standards of discipline must be put into effect, which means that the level of alcohol consumption in Hungary must be reduced Toward this end, the government has issued a series of stiff directives It has increased the price of drinks and forbidden their sale at worksites or within 200 meters of any substantial factory It has also banned the sale of spirits prior to 9 a m , in the hope of preventing the customary shot before work, and after 9 p m , to prevent disorderly public behavior at night Other measures include a 25 per cent hike in the price of hard liquor, a vigorous national publicity campaign explaining the dangers of excessive drinking, and encouraging families to seek treatment for their alcoholic relations in a closed institution Because half of the country's almost 200,000 registered habitual drunkards —whose condition calls for continuous medical care—frequently find themselves in conflict with the law, Hungarian courts are empowered to deprive alcoholics of their freedom for periods of compulsory treatment Pleas for leniency—made by offenders on grounds of diminished responsibility due to drunkenness are invariably being rejected (Alcohol abuse is alleged in more than 10 per cent of all accidents, and the number is rising ) Court orders are even issued now for alcoholics who do not necessarily break any law They are treated at Nagy fa, Country Csongrad, perhaps Europe's most modern facility devoted to the treatment of alcoholics The present measures coincide with a directive issued by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, which has considerably increased the supply of soft drinks available to the populace Whether these sugary beverages will catch on and quench the thirst for stronger brews remains an open question ?Thomas Land...

...Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS Finland's Communists Helsinki—Finland's Communist Party, once among the first to voice unorthodox views, is again making the Soviet Union uneasy—this time over the issue of Eurocommunism Although numerically small, the Finnish Communists play a significant role in their country's multiparty political system, particularly since President Urho Kek-konen has insisted on their participation in several of his recent governments The latest debate actually was not set off by a party member but by a young Left-wing Socialist member of Parliament, Ilkka Christian Bjorklund In a series of articles written during the summer for the Communist newspaper, Kansan Uutiset, he advocated several possible paths to socialism, including democratic change Pravda's Helsinki correspondent quickly attacked Bjorklund for expressing "anti-Social-ist" ideas Party spokesmen and representatives of the Finnish Peoples' Democratic League (the Lett-wing parliamentary bloc that includes the Communists and Bjorklund's group), responded by citing (he necessity for open discussion Support of Bjorklund's notions was not unanimous, however, reflecting the bitter split that developed here in 1968 when a majority of the Finnish Communists condemned the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia A Moscow-mediated compromise the following year, proportionately dividing leadership posts and other offices between the liberal and hardline factions, prevented a formal breakup of the party But the deep rift remained, and if anything widened when playing an active role in the government convinced party liberals of the value of parliamentary democracy In a recent interview m Parliament House, Bjorklund noted that most of the country's Communists had adopted "certain Eurocommunist traits ' Then he hastened to explain why the Left did not criticize the nation's policy of friendship and neutrality toward its neighbor, the USSR "The geopolitical situation in Finland is a fact," he said "Even the Conservatives have to adjust their policies to it A stable East-West detente, he believes, is necessary to create "a realistic framework tor a democratic and peaceful way to socialism " Eerki Tuomioja...