Satu Hassi defended Tampella and rejoices in Tampere's development
Satu Hassi has suggested the Finlayson rooftop café as the location for the interview. From there, you can see the old Tampella sign on the other side of the river. The preservation of the Tampella factory area was a struggle that made Hassi famous in Tampere.
– Tampella was my first job as a graduate engineer. It was a terrible place to work for a young female engineer, but I liked the factory area, she recalls.
In the late 1980s, Tampella and the city's leadership at the time had negotiated a zoning agreement that would have multiplied the building rights for the site and forced the demolition of a large part of the old factory buildings. A popular movement arose to oppose the plan, but a minority in the city council was in favor of protecting the factories. The popular movement revealed that some of the negotiators of the agreement were biased, the Supreme Administrative Court overturned it, and the project was finally abandoned when Tampella went bankrupt.
The defense of the Tampella environment was a significant milestone in the preservation of old buildings in Tampere and throughout Finland.
With the preservation of Tampella and Finlayson, the Tammerkoski area began to be talked about as a national landscape worthy of appearing on banknotes. Hassi's struggle brought her both praise and criticism.
– I wasn't the only defender, but I was certainly one of the most vocal. One of Tampella's executives stated in Aamulehti that the claim of bias was the talk of crazy storytellers, Hassi laughs.
No stammerer
The licentiate of technology and master of science in engineering has had the expertise to defend his views firmly. In newspaper interviews, it is often noted at the outset that she is not the terrible person her reputation suggests.
– Hufvudstadsbladet asked my fellow MEPs for their opinion of me. According to them, I was influential, helpful, constructive, and reliable, among other things. Of course, the fact that I was not standing for re-election to the European Parliament may have influenced their assessments, she smiles.
Hassi is the only person from Tampere to have served as a city councilor, member of parliament, minister, and member of the European Parliament. One of the highlights of her time as a minister was the 1999 EU summit in Tampere, when Finland held the EU presidency.
Tampere and the Finnish government had brought the ministerial meetings to the old Tampella factory premises, where Vapriikki is now located. I chaired one of those meetings, which was truly heartwarming.
Tampere is known for its large-scale projects that have stirred up strong emotions. The construction of the Rantatunneli tunnel and Ranta-Tampella was one of the most significant projects, alongside the tramway. There was also fierce debate about the use of Palatsinsilta Bridge.
– During the Tampella dispute, I suggested that Rantatie be placed in a tunnel and that residential buildings be constructed on top of it. This is what eventually happened, but the vote in the city council was close. People wanted car traffic on Palatsinsilta, but in the end, the light traffic option won. Even though Ranta-Tampella has its shortcomings, it is good that there are residential buildings in a central location by the lake, Hassi thinks.
A good outcome from heated disputes
In Hassi's opinion, the above-mentioned projects are proof that even heated disputes can lead to an outcome that ultimately pleases everyone. You can even take a city tour on the tram, as Hassi often does with visitors to Tampere. He always shows them the Town Hall, especially if they are foreigners.
– I tell them that the Red Declaration was issued from that balcony, which led to the election of the world’s first female members of parliament in Finland.
In the post-war period, Tampere was known for its political cooperation, where the National Coalition Party and the Social Democrats found common ground. Hassi credits this political cooperation with bringing the Tampere University of Technology and the University of Social Sciences, which became the University of Tampere, to the city. Students have brought new ideas and creativity, which Hassi believes have shaped Tampere into what it is today.
– The students also helped the older residents save Pispala after moving there, Hassi says.
Out with the useless stuff and on to a new book
Hassi is also known as an author who began his literary career with a collection of poetry and has since published textbooks and, most recently, memoirs. He has something new in the works, but he is not yet willing to reveal any details.
– First, I'm going to clear out the unnecessary stuff from my house bit by bit, and then maybe I'll start going through my sources, he says.
Apparently, there will be no shocking revelations this time either, and no one will be dragged through the mud, just like in his memoirs. Even the tabloids couldn't find anything scandalous in the memoirs other than the fact that in the 1990s, Hassi travelled to Strasbourg with a parliamentary delegation using his 13-year-old daughter's passport.
– I was in a hurry and accidentally took the wrong passport from the drawer. However, it was only checked at Frankfurt Airport, and there the black-and-white photo was perfectly clear. My colleagues said that the abolition of border controls in Europe would not change anything, she laughs.
