Deputy mayor of Helsinki caught graffitiing in railway tunnel
It was ‘stupid fooling around’ says apologetic deputy mayor of Helsinki, 46, after being caught spraying GRAFFITI in a rail tunnel leaving his career hanging by a thread
- It’s not immediately clear whether Arhinmäki will face legal charges
The deputy mayor of Helsinki has admitted that it was ‘stupid fooling around’ after being caught spraying graffiti in a railway tunnel.
Paavo Arhinmäki, 46, is facing the prospect of legal action after being caught red handed in the act.
The official is now facing calls to resign after he caused 3,500 euros (£3,020) worth of damage to the tunnel in the east of Finland’s capital.
Arhinmäki, and a friend were caught by guards after they had completed graffiti, which Finnish street art experts said looked partly inspired by works seen in New York City in the 1970s.
Finland’s largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, published a photo of the large-scale graffiti in a tweet.
In a Facebook posting on Sunday, Arhinmäki, who is known as a strong supporter of street art and as a creator of graffiti in his youth, apologized for his ‘stupid fooling around.’
Helsinki deputy mayor Paavo Arhinmäki (pictured), 46, was left red-faced after getting caught spraying graffiti at the weekend, an endeavour that cost 3,500 euros (USD 3,834) to clean up, officials said on June 27, 2023
He is a former lawmaker and chairman of the Left Alliance, and served as a minister for culture and sports in 2011-2014.
Police are investigating the act as vandalism and interference with rail traffic, which had to be temporarily halted because of the incident. The rail tunnel is used by cargo trains running to and from a Helsinki port.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Arhinmäki would face legal charges.
‘I have committed a crime and bear full responsibility for it,’ Arhinmäki told YLE on Monday, but has refused to resign from his post and the Helsinki City Council where his Left Alliance party is backing him.
The case has caused uproar and debate among Helsinki citizens in social media with a majority condemning – but some also fiercely supporting – the actions of the deputy mayor who is in charge of culture and leisure affairs in Helsinki, a city of 650,000 inhabitants.
The Finnish capital spends an estimated 650,000 euros (£561,219) annually to remove illegal graffiti throughout the city, and is currently seeking to establish additional sanctioned sites for street art.
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