2011-04-16

Here come the True Finns

Who are the True Finns? While the party seems to espouse typical Northern European economics, it sets itself apart with pro-Finnish populism and nationalism. The media hasn't done a good job covering them, surprise surprise, but here's an article that at least offers some objective views mixed with commentary. Timo Soini, True Finn in sheep's clothing
Demonstrating a mastery of the background to political issues, his answers to questions are usually to the point. But he is also an outspoken populist intent on surfing the wave of ambient discontent with a ready supply of simplistic responses to complex questions.
Here's the most important section:
His main hobbyhorses are Finnish withdrawal from the European Union and restrictions on immigration. He also believes that Finland should abandon the Kyoto Protocol and that the Church should oppose same-sex marriage. Soini is very careful to distinguish himself from racists, and often refers to his Roman Catholic faith (he converted to Catholicism when he was a student in the 1980s) as proof of his conviction that all men are equal.

Soini has become a darling of the media

His detractors have remarked that his demagoguery appeals to a xenophobic section of the electorate, and that he deliberately allows these voters to believe that he represents their values. In reality, Timo Soini’s line on immigration policy has little to do with his success, which is primarily due to his ability to reach out to the growing fringe of voters that have given up on politics.
Here's the socionomic explanation and the media's ignorance of it in a nutshell. The party has taken on positions that are unpopular with the European elite, namely anti-immigration and anti-EU, which according to the elite means they are just a bunch of ignorant racists. In fact, the party is tapping much deeper discontent, voters dissatisfied with Finnish society at a fundamental level, enough so that supporters are those who would rather leave politics.

The focus on the party's immigration and social positions, however, are a sideshow to the main event, which is the ongoing bailouts in the Eurozone. There's an election in Finland today and the outcome could affect the current European policy.
The True Finns, he said, would probably tone down its rhetoric as a condition of joining government. The Social Democrats, who are critical of the bailout plan but supportive of the EU, would be even easier to get on board, he said.

"Either it's a pre-condition for them to support Portugal in the next government, or at least not to vote against it... I'm sure that Finland will be in line with other European countries in the next government," he told Reuters.

The True Finns have said they have no intention of backing down from their opposition to the bailout plan, but political analysts said the party and its charismatic leader, Timo Soini, would probably compromise if needed.

"It would be strange for a party to grow so much but not want to use that power and enter government," said Kimmo Gronlund, research director at Abo University.

Support for the True Finns has nearly quadrupled since the 2007 election. Analysts say many Finns have become disenchanted with the other main parties, as combinations of those three have run the country for decades and voters feel they have lost touch with the people.
Note the party's rise right in tune with social mood. Politically speaking, if the choice is accept an unpopular bailout or stay out of government (60% of Finns oppose a bailout), I suspect taking the second option would result in True Finns winning first place in the following election.

No comments:

Post a Comment