I joined the National Coalition Party, Kokoomus, when the debate about whether Finland should join the European Union or not was as its hottest. This was a time of the worst depression and youth unemployment in Finland and I was determined to work for a better future. I've been a member of the city council of Jyväskylä since 1997, and during 2005-2008 I was the Chairwoman of the council. Ten years after being elected to the city council, I was elected to the Finnish Parliament. From December 2008-2011, I was Minister for Education and Science, and after the parliamentary elections in 2011, I became Minister of Public Administration and Local Government. After the Left Alliance left the government in March of 2014, I became the Transport Minister. In the European Parliament, I sit on the Industry, Research & Industry Committee and the Transport Committee. MEP since 2014.