The deputy mayor of Helsinki, Paavo Arhinmaki, was caught doing graffiti graffiti this weekend. An unfortunate act that cost 3,500 euros to clean up, authorities said on Tuesday.
The guards they caught, Paavo Arhinmaki, 46, and a friend of his, shortly after they finished painting one of the walls of the railway tunnel in Vantaa, southern Finland, on Friday night, during Finland’s traditional solstice celebrations.
At the graffiti it was written: “world domination and professional ascent”.
The “head” of the region’s maintenance team, Eero Liehu, from Finland’s Transport Infrastructure Agency, told the AFP agency the cleanup took more than three hours and cost 3,500 euros.
Arhinmaki, responsible for culture and leisure at FINnish, already apologized on Saturday on his social network Facebook.
“It was irresponsible on my part and on my friend’s part. For some reason I thought it was okay to write on painted concrete walls and out of sight,” Arhinmaki wrote.
“I consider it a very reckless act, as zones are allowed for this. It was not the case,” said former Finnish MP Juhana Vartiainen, who has already exchanged a few words with Arhinmaki. about what happened, and says that repentance is obvious.
“He realizes the weight of the situation,” Vartiainen said
The police are investigating the case under the offenses of damage to property and interruption of train traffic. The deputy chairman of the city council said he did not think his actions would have such drastic consequences that he would be removed from his former position.
On his Facebook he explained that his fondness for graffiti it dates back to his childhood in Pasila, a Helsinki neighborhood known for its architecture, which has now given way to a bustling office and transport hub.
“In the center are the skyscrapers of Pasila and in the background is the silhouette of Pasila,” he said.
Arhinmaki is a former MP and leader of the Left Alliance. He was also Minister of Culture and Sport between 2011 and 2014.
Source: DN
