Career
He was first elected to the Finnish Parliament in the 2007 election and reelected in 2011. He led the Left Youth in 2001–2005. He proposed a halt to nuclear power projects in Finland in the wake of the Great Hanshin earthquake.
The football enthusiast Arhinmäki became Minister for Culture and Sport, and the party gained another ministerial portfolio as well.
The decision to join the government created a split in the party, leading to the expulsion of two MPs from the parliamentary group. In 2012 Arhinmäki was a Left Alliance candidate in the Finnish Presidential Elections, finishing 6th with 5.5% of the total votes in the first round of voting.
Arhinmäki became the subject of media criticism after a drinking binge at the Sochi Winter Olympics in February 2014. In 2014 Left Alliance left the cabinet over dispute on a package of spending cuts and tax rises.