Change for tomorrow

The Finnish social democratic movement is preparing for the 48th party congress which will be held in May in Tampere. The party congress will decide on our political program and elect party leaders.

The party congress is particularly important because, in a world undergoing transformation, we are preparing for the upcoming parliamentary election spring, the possibility of government responsibility, and above all, we should prepare to secure the future of our movement. The Social Democratic movement must be—and must show itself to be—a driving force for tomorrow's change.

However, the decisions on these matters will be made by those who are elected from each party district. In Pirkanmaa and Southwest Finland, the selection is made through a member ballot, in which we hope as many members as possible will choose to vote.

In Pirkanmaa, voting for party congress delegates takes place from 14 February to 1 March 2026.

In Southwest Finland, voting for party congress delegates takes place from 15 February to 3 March 2026.

We are now building the change force of tomorrow together, for a future about which we do not yet know everything. Working life is changing, education no longer guarantees employment, the social safety net is being weakened, and global issues are challenging our outlook for the future.

A sustainable future is built by including people of all ages—both the young and the elderly. Young people bring attention to new kinds of societal shortcomings and new arenas for political discussion, just as young people in the party have always been at the forefront of renewing the party to face the issues of their time. That is why today's Social Democratic Youth also have a vision for the future world, and why it would be desirable to have broad youth representation at the party congress.

What we know for certain—based on the party's age structure (average age of members is approx. 68 years)—is that the party congress will include many grandfathers and grandmothers, workers from various fields, and pensioners. What we do not know, however, is how many young people will be elected to the congress.

The Social Democratic movement will stagnate into a force of the past if the young people of each generation are not able to participate in shaping the party's programmes together with the rest of the party family.

In summary, once again, the party must listen to its members.

Young people are standing as candidates in nearly all party districts. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the young candidates in your own district—and to vote for the future of our shared movement.

This text was written by Eino Koskinen from Southwest Finland and Maija Alfreds from Pirkanmaa. Both are candidates for party congress delegate.