HELSINKI - Katri Kulmuni will step down as Finland’s finance minister but continue to lead her party after admitting on Friday that she had used taxpayers’ money to fund training on how to speak in public.
Kulmuni, who on Wednesday had promised to pay the money back, said she had not been aware of the total amount spent on her training prior to this week. Since the media reports emerged, police and the Chancellor of Justice, the government’s top legal officer, have received complaints about Kulmuni’s use of public funds, but it was not clear if her actions breached any laws or the government’s internal rules.
She said she had felt she needed more confidence in speaking in public as a minister, but apologised in particular for also having trained for a party congress speech that had little to do with her ministerial tasks.
I can only hope our African leaders are taking lessons out of this.