As far as appealing to fringe base goes in politics, the message doesn't get more clearer than when a politician says ‘Finnish cows should be milked in Finland and the milk should not be sent abroad as a gift’. These words are attributed to Timo Soini, a fervent nationalist Finnish Politician.
The European Union was thrown into some disarray as it became clear that a hitherto fringe Party in Finland called Perussoumaliaset, got 19% of the vote in the Finnish Parliamentary Elections on April 17. This makes the populist ‘True Finns Party’ the third largest in Parliament with 39 seats. That translates to four more seats than the Center Party, who dropped 16 seats, and as a consequence are relegated to being the fourth largest party in Finland.
End of the affair with the E.U
The True Finns’ rise in the polls has been instrumental to what’s being perceived as a break-up of Finland’s traditional consensus on a national stage. The Center Party vote crumbled, and right wing parties are poised to take power. All other mainstream parties dropped seats to the advantage of the True Finns, except the ‘Swedish Peoples Party in Finland’, who retain their 9 allocated seats from the preceding election.
Hence, the True Finns have an opportunity to block a future Finnish government from signing on with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), forcing such a government to use its veto, as the E.U attempts to bring bankrupt Portugal back from the precipice of insolvency.
On the national stage, it’s a breakthrough for a fringe anti-immigration nationalist party with somewhat ‘socialist’ policies. And we all know the kind of havoc national socialist parties are capable of. According to the True Finns’ Manifesto, they intend to increase taxes paid on a number of things, including alcohol...as if alcohol in Finland is not eye-wateringly expensive enough.
On my last visit to Helsinki from London, I had the foresight to take my own bottle of Japanese Hibiki in the knowledge that alcohol prices in my beloved Scandinavia are prohibitive by British standards. But, I digress.
Their Manifesto’s international policy is dominated by their contempt for ‘European federalism’. One gets the gist that the True Finns loathe the E.U. The Manifesto does not come across as the ‘Fuhrer’ railing against the ‘Treaty of Versailles’ in Mein Kampf, yet, some may draw similarities. In addition, the True Finns’ Manifesto does not call for a total withdraw from Europe....or a Finnish Lebensraum.
Vanity Fair
There’s a certain sense of irony in the rise of fringe parties who get their members elected on a wave of opposition to the E.U. It's one which suggests that if it wasn’t for the very institution they hold in utter contempt , many of Europe's vainest politicians would not be in a job.
One such ‘vanity fair seeking’ politician is the leader of the True Finns, Timo Soini. In the wake of all the attention his party is getting internationally, the pudgy politician, who reassembles a cross between Britain’s John ‘two Jags’ Prescott and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, got incensed by comments he received from Swedes in the press. The True Finns have been vociferous about their policy to get rid of compulsory Swedish language being taught to young Finns. In addition, Timo Soini has expressed his desire to exclude the Swedish Peoples Party from a future Government appointment.
So incensed was Mr Soini he threatened that those Swedish comments could affect Finn-Swedish relations in the future. Such delusions of grandeur are nothing new. In the current climate of high unemployment, wholesale bail outs and rising immigration, Soini has enough political currency to overstep his role as future coalition partner, and re-enacting the Sun King, declaring ‘L’etat c’est moi’.
Beyond Finland
But, things being as they are, there’s a plethora of demagogic ‘loud mouths’ who’ve found a route into the limelight via the European Union. They’ve found the perfect route to notoriety, feigning the politics of national interest through E.U obstructionism. Indeed, E.U excesses do not help the perception of it, as an interfering monolith.
Finland isn’t the only country deeply concerned with the never-ending bail out of countries who took benefits from the E.U, but haven’t a hope in hell of giving any back. The chances of Greece, Ireland, or Portugal leading Europe in future are extremely slim. Furthermore, bail outs provide a sense of false security for countries too timid to balance their books. Once the door’s been open to one, it should be open to all, despite the clamour to slam it shut, lock it and throw away the key.
It’s an ominous situation. But, its also a convenient one for opportunists. In Britain, one such opportunist is professional E.U obstructionist Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). He’s sent his felicitations to Soini, having spoke in Finland in February and buoyed in the confidence that the True Finns' gains will have a contagious effect on UK voters in up coming local elections. UKIP is set to target council seats of currently out of favour Liberal Democrats.
Farage is the vainest of the vain, with colourful shirts upon which sleeves, he wears overtly pretentious British eccentricity. The flamboyant politician, who must revel in in being a modern day Thomas Beckett prompting Henry II to scream 'who will free me from this turbulent Priest' has no problem being bedfellows with the European Parliaments’ misanthropic collective, misnamed the ‘Freedom and Democracy’ group. What’s more, he loves the attention, having no obligation to deliver concrete solutions.
On the other hand, Timo Soini has ridden the E.U horse to his destination, flogging and poking it incessantly all the way. Soini does not have the luxury of doing nothing in the realm of realpolitiks, far from the succour found in the populist fringe. The European Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner has demanded responsible action from the new Finnish Government before May 16 in regards to the Portuguese bailout. It will be interesting to see if the new Finnish government can stick to its guns. There's also political pressure from Sweden. We should be weary, but not overly concerned .
Source
"Timo Soini: The Finnish Bear mauling the E.U Bailout" The Telegraph, April 17, 2011
"EUs Rehn: Finland mustn't hold up Portugal aid", Rueters April 20, 2011.
Final Finnish Election Results: True Finns Gain 34 Seats, Business Insider, Politix, April 17 2011.
"Soini Hits Back at Swedish Media Critics", YLE.fi April 21, 2011
"True Finns' nationalism colours Finland election" , BBC News Europe, April 15, 2011.
"Swedish Peoples Party prepares for government talks" Helsingin Sanomat (International Version), April 20, 2011.
