Boris delegates his vote to Rinne

In yet another desperate attempt to maintain UK influence in EU while simultaneously trying to leave the Union altogether, Boris Johnson has delegated UK voting powers to otherwise unknown Finnish PM Antti Rinne.

According to the UK government, voting powers will only be delegated to Finland in case of minor issues of little importance to the UK, which apparently includes issues concerning the global climate and environment.

Considering Johnson’s campaign promise to #takebackcontrol, the move to grant Finland powers to vote on the UK’s behalf might seem baffling. However, when considering that the Johnson government is not actually interested in any sort of international cooperation at all, the decision makes slightly more sense.

But why Finland?

Finland, also known as Suomi, is a strange, large and little populated country known for its many lakes. So, why Finland? Well, because Finland currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the European council. As the chairman of the council is expected to act as “honest broker”, the chairman is usually expected to act in a fairly neutral manner and to take into consideration the viewpoints of all the member states. However, Finland is also known as a fierce opponent of Brexit, as many Finns tend to go to the UK for holidays and as Finnish telephone brand Nokia used to be huge in England,