Review: Lastenkutsut
Children’s parties angered and delighted Kekkonen’s connoisseurs
“The whole performance is quite a farce”
At the invited guest performance of the children’s party, a large group of spectators sat on the velvet chairs in Tamminiemi, who have had personal experiences with the President
About Urho Kekkonen
. Haavikko’s play did not leave the guests cold. Some of the audience laughed at Haavikko’s characters, some looked indignant and even bored.
“The children’s party was quite a farcical performance, and it didn’t give me any new insights, at least for me. It wasn’t even satire. To be honest, I didn’t get anything out of the play,” says the minister
Max Jakobson
, a man well known to Kekkonen.
In Haavikko’s opinion, the name and authentic venue chosen by Haavikko for his play was a clever idea and part of a farce. “Already because of Tamminiemi, I expected too much from Haavikko’s play, in a way.”
“If you wanted to look for something in Haavikko’s text that would describe Kekkonen in a new, interesting way, I couldn’t find one.”
Kekkonen was
Of course, Jakobson was also a great man and a strong political leader, as he was for so many young generation Kekkonen researchers.
Researcher
Jukka Relander’s
in his opinion, Kekkonen had more power than any freely elected head of state in the history of the world,
Hitler
Except for the
“Relander’s claim is an exaggerated, rather simplistic generalization. Of course, it is extremely difficult to compare the use of power in different countries, in different circumstances and in different eras. This kind of generalization cannot be made because Kekkonen was not always the same either, but his use of power also changed at different times as the international situation and Soviet policy changed. Kekkonen must be judged against the background of the times,” Jakobson points out.
As an invited guest, historian Relander refused to express his opinion on Haavikko’s Children’s Party.
Kekkonen’s fences
Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and cultural influencer
Jaakko Numminen
liked Haavikko’s play. Numminen considered Haavikko’s text to be surprisingly neutral if you compare it to the recent discussions on Kekkos.
“Koivisto was brilliantly characterized. Antti Litja’s lines came from Koivisto himself. Heikki Nousiainen’s movement was the most genuine Kekkonen. I enjoyed the play and had a good laugh many times,” Numminen enthuses.
According to Numminen, Kekkonen skilfully took over the youth at his children’s party. The model would suit even a sitting president,” Numminen smiles.
“After all, Kekkonen led the youth revolution in Finland for decades,” Numminen points out.
Director of the Helsinki City Theatre
Asko Sarkola
participated in children’s parties in Tamminiemi in his youth
Elina Salon
in the same hall where Haavikko’s Children’s Party is now being played.
“I remember sitting next to Sylvi Kekkonen, and I couldn’t think of anything to say.”
According to Sarkola, Kekkonen understood radicalism and knew what the youth were thinking. “The children’s parties of the Kekkonen era have yet to be written,” Sarkola points out.