Markus
Johansson
Pargas
"Living Archipelago"
I was born and raised in the outer archipelago on the island of Aspö, where I still live together with my family.My education is Master Mariner, and I have spent my entire professional career at sea, both in nearby waters and far from home. I want to invest in the well-being of the archipelago people and in ensuring that the opportunity to live continues both in the outer and inner archipelago
Important political topics
Children, Youth, and Families
I would like to see as many families and young people as possible settle in the archipelago. We must continue to give everyone access to school, kindergarten, health care, maternity and child health clinics and other essential services in the best possible way, and as close as possible. As someone who was originally born in the outer archipelago, I have experienced what it takes to live here, but also what it provides. I think that I would do well as an adviser when it comes to living-in-the-archipelago-matters. Although the operations are not always as smooth as on the mainland, which you have to adapt to, we have a well functioning system overall! As a single pillar, Utö School is vital, having attended it myself!
Housing and Construction
In order to make life in the archipelago easier, we need to maintain timetables for ferries that take into account both permanent residents and tourism. I feel that during the winter months, the emphasis should be placed on the needs/wishes of permanent residents, as movement is strictly limited to the timetables of connecting vessels. In the summer months, however, more attention should be paid to tourism activities.
The price of freight transport and the amount of property tax should be taken into account by keeping them at a tolerable level, especially for people living in the archipelago and for those operating tourism. The risk of forced sales of land is high with current property taxes.
Tourism is an important source of livelihood in the archipelago, some people live entirely on it. Without the islanders, we would be without many of the tourism operators that exist today. Personally, I live in the hope that Finland will do everything in its power to keep the archipelago and the whole Pargas alive in the best possible way. One important thing would also be to have functional mobile broadband around the archipelago, including the outer islands. I live on the island of Aspö and our phone connection and internet are poor. This would be essential so that, in the event of an emergency, help could be called without having to climb a cliff to speak out. Also important for those who work remotely.
Culture and Leisure
Finland is a bilingual country, and those of us who belong to a minority must have a strong will to receive service in Swedish. It is also necessary to keep the second national language compulsory in schools.
In terms of archipelago culture, I have invested in music and events, partly with the help of Svenska Kulturfonden. In addition to music, there are many different ways of practicing culture, and I support them all. The more events we get in the archipelago, the better.