I used my dog's shampoo

Something that I heard on the BBC World Service about Finland's current elections lodged in my mind, especially after yesterday's discovery that practically everyone is blogging.

It seems that with exception of President Tarja Halonen all of the seven other candidates have been writing their own weblogs.

In particular, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen appears to be some sort of Pooterish comedy genius read by 20,000 to 30,000 people each day.

"I broke my glasses last night," he wrote recently.

"While I was watching television I noticed that my vision in one eye had deteriorated. I rubbed my eye, but nothing happened. I thought it must be due to fatigue. But I realized what it was when my finger went right through the frame of my eyeglasses. I've ordered new glasses for next week."

He even provided his cell phone number so readers could let him know whether he should get bold or discreet frames.

Another day he wrote: "I didn't go skiing. I took a nap instead. To get some exercise I shoveled snow."

And yet another entry: "This morning in the shower, still half-asleep, I used my dog's shampoo. It smelled strange."

It is almost as if he is channelling Viv Stanshall from the great beyond. I would vote for him in a heartbeat. His website is at http://www.mattivanhanen.net/ but my Finnish is not even up to the modest task of understanding if that is the weblog or not.