Mika
Vauhkala

In December 2021 I was refused coffee and a croissant because I didn’t have a COVID pass.

I could have walked out of Kluuvikatu 3 and forgotten about it. I didn’t.

And it wasn’t just about me. Plenty of other people went through the same thing. Many lost their jobs. Some had to choose between giving in and sticking to what they believed. There are a lot of those stories in Finland.

For me, it was never really about the croissant.

It was about whether someone can be shut out of ordinary life for refusing to hand over control of their own body. Can someone else decide what you have to put into your body – or which test you have to take – just to live a normal life?

My answer was simple: no.

So I took it to court. Not over coffee or a croissant, but because somebody had to push back and defend freedom.

I remember sitting at home around New Year 2021–2022, asking myself whether I was really prepared to put my name and face on the line for basic rights.

In the end it came down to this:

If I won’t stand up for basic rights – what will I stand up for?

From that point on, there was no holding back. Public social media. My own name. My own face.

And that same principle is why I’m running for Parliament now.

I’m Mika Vauhkala – entrepreneur and independent candidate on the Freedom Alliance list in Uusimaa.

I want a Finland that runs its own affairs. A Finland that defends freedom and basic rights even when it’s hard – because that’s exactly when they need defending.

Freedom is not for sale.

Not yours. Not mine. Not Finland’s.

Only one gear – full throttle.