A sporty future vuorineuvos talking on a mobile - unusually for a Finn

The title is in the news at the moment in Finland because Kyösti Kakkonen (he of the Yellow jersey), the founder of the chain of discount stores Tokmanni, and partner in dodgy political campaign donations with Toivo Sukari and Tapani Yli-Saunamäki (see my diary They Paved Paradise ), is up for the title, to be confirmed by the non-communicative committee who meet next Tuesday.

So here are the interesting dynamics of the case:

• The committee, headed by PM Matti Vanhanen, never discloses the names of candidates, never reveals its reasoning and never comments upon awards.

• PM Matti Vanhanen received a 10,000 € campaign donation from the 3 partners above.

• The candidates for Vuorineuvos were decided at a meeting of the committee last November - long before this scandal broke.

• The President, to my knowledge, has never refused the advice of the `committee' - but it is no secret that our SD President Tarja Halonen is not entirely enamoured of the current PM, and particularly the drive to remove several powers of the Presidency and give them to the government. But there is always a first time, and she would be loudly applauded by the majority of Finns.

• It costs nearly 50,000 € in stamp duty to get the honorific. Yes, you read that correctly - 50 Grand. A tidy sum that is usually paid by the organization or company that lobbies on behalf of candidates.

• Jorma Olilla, former CEO of Nokia refused the title.

So, how about your country? Do you have honorifics, are they important, how are they awarded?

The only two anyone ever uses in referring to me are `Brittipiiras' or British Pie, after a now defunct exotic Finnish comestible of the Eighties, or another, which I cannot use without revealing my identity.