Just like a junkie craving for a shot, the campaign by the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* showed revealed their immigration dependency problem. Like a gas pedal, the PS has stepped on the immigration topic to attract voters.
Immigration is a highly politicized topic in Finland as well and directly related to the success of the PS over the last decade. During all the last four parliamentary elections, the PS has successfully used an immigration crime topic to attract voters.
The European parliamentary election was a fiasco for the PS. Source: Yle
As a non-white Finn, the campaign by the likes of PS Chairperson and Minister of Finance Riiikka Purra, Interioir Minister Mari Rantanen, and Simo “Rwanda Model Now” Grönroos, was enough to make your stomach turn.
Mari Rantanen and Riikka Purra playing Muslim in 2019. Source: Facebook
The good showing of the Left Alliance and the mediocre result of the Social Democrats shows that there is a lot of room and potential for parties who speak out against the status quo and traditional topics like immigration. The National Coalition Party’s good showing reveals that Finland has strong conservative roots.
One of the questions asked by some media like Yle was why did opinion polls get it so wrong. None of them saw the spectacular rise of the Left Alliance and the tailspin of the PS.
The media, like many politicians, have normalized the hate politics of the PS and given it recognition without seriously questioning its toxicity. Recognition is given to anyone who has power.
Even if the election result was “quite a surprise” and “a definite disappointment,” it could be viewed as Nazi German’s defeat in Stalingrad in 1943, which turned the tide against them.
