Peter Östman, chairman of the Christian Democrats' parliamentary group, has commented on the state aid decision for the Garden Helsinki arena project, which has sparked strong criticism. The government led by Petteri Orpo decided at the spring 2025 budget negotiations to grant the project a 35 million euro conditional state aid as part of an investment package. Although the opposition claims the decision was made bypassing normal procedures, Östman defends the practice, stating that investment decisions were agreed upon among party leaders at the start of the government term. He emphasizes that the preparation of the matter took place at the special advisor level and conforms to current political practice. However, the release of documents from the Ministry of Finance has raised questions regarding the transparency of the decision-making process and Prime Minister Orpo's previous statements. Östman views the opposition's criticism as an attempt to undermine confidence in the government and emphasizes that the pursuit of regional investments is a matter of ordinary political life.