With the lost asian strategy one would think incentive to connecting passengers would increase.
Now, my interest isn't mainly about penalising connectors / rewarding home base. It is about the process Ranskis outlined. If Finnair adopts this method, they would visualize the change painfully well, to a point where they ridicule themselves.

Take a look at a central Europe flyer, who now not only needs to back track 2-2,5 hours to HEL, change planes and do the same 2,5 hours back again before starting making way towards HKG. S/he is now also going to be told upfront, "that back-tracking is going to help your progress toward tier 50 times slower, because we have a spend based system and for technical reasons the fare for that segment part is only 25€".
Just that is going to be a very tough sell, but what happens then?

- OK, says the chastened flyer, can I then at least buy a few of those shorthaul flights for 25€?
- Ohno, that fare doesn't exist. A real ticket to HEL is much more expensive. This is just a technical contruct so we can rub your face in display the low segment earnings. It is a technical artefact of our wonderful spend based system!

That's the moment I want to be a fly on the wall!!!

Also, there are no winners. I don't think this is a zero sum game where good old Finnair takes away earnings from central europeeans and giveth to Finns. Less connecting customers equals lower loads equals fewer departures. Fewer departures will mainly affect domestic travellers wanting to go to Europe now and then. (Central europeeans can chose other airlines)
Fewer customers also means less profit. Less profit means fleet downsize. Smaller airline, means less profit, means...

But!
Of course a smaller airline will be easier to integrate into IAG
The brand name will earn good money and with a fleet of A320, LHR, MAD and DOH can be served for full connections to Europe and the world! (IAG better not penalise connecting passengers though for this dream