An election victory by the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* like in the 2011 election, exposes the same ogre populism and xenophobia. The PS could have never dreamed of joining the major leagues of Finnish politics without the help of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), the Social Democratic party, and the Center Party.
While the latter is true, the most critical support came from the Finnish voter. How do you explain the PS winning 39 seats in 2011 from five in the previous election?
The PS should offer gratitude to its victims: immigrants, refugees, and minorities.
What will Sunday’s election reveal behind the mask that covers the many real faces of Finland?
The leading ideologues of the PS are its former head, Timo Soini, and Jussi Halla-aho, who raised to political fame through his hateful blog posts.
TV personality Maryan Abdulkarim has described Soini in the following words:
“This [election victory of the PS in 2011] directly impacted the social debate. What was considered acceptable political discourse [has now] changed. It was evident in my daily life and those close to me – racist views surfaced increasingly in words and actions. [H]e [former PS leader Timo Soini] has never apologized for his actions, his populism, which normalized racism. Timo Soini is, to quote a friend of mine, a self-proclaimed apostle of good, the prince of darkness.”
The fact that Finland has a virtual three-way tie in the polls over who will win Sunday’s election does not only reveal Finland’s “r” problem but how politicians and society have failed to tackle the cancerous social ill.
One of the big mistakes a traditionally conservative party like Koomus can make is going to bed with the PS.
In March 2020, Kokoomus’s attraction to the PS began as early as in March 2010, when its then-leader, Jyrki Katainen, said that being critical and debating immigrant issues didn’t make you a racist. After that green light to racism was given, the Social Democratic leadership gave the PS another pat on the back with their infamous saying, maassa maan tavalla.
True, but if we look at how politicians debated about migrants and other minorities, we could conclude it was racist in many cases.
Since Kokoomus has stated that it is ready to form a government with the PS, could it be that the radical-right party could start devouring it? In Sweden, thanks to the support of the conservative Moderate party, the Sweden Democrats become the biggest right-wing party.
The exceptionalism and façade of Finland’s social equality is nothing more than a mirage of exceptionalism.
The big question is what lies behind Finland’s mask.
Sunday will reveal a lot to us.