In the 2019 European Parliament election, Henna Virkkunen of the National Coalition Party agreed that the EU was not obligated to save people from drowning in the Mediterranean. She was in good company with the likes of Perussuomalaiset MEPs Laura Huhtasaari and Teuvo Hakkarainen.
Virkkunen reasoned that we should stop traffickers, even if it means allowing people to drown and die at sea.
After five years of being in the EU parliament, she still believes that people should die after being pushed back at the border.
Question 11 of Yle’s election compass: “A person trying to reach Europe can be turned back at the border, even if it would put their life in danger.”
Source: AP
The good news is that only five of Finland’s 15 MEPs would care less id people died trying to cross the border. These are three from the National Coalition Party (NCP), one Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, and one from the Center Party, which has a wishy-washy track record on immigration.
The Center Party MEP and then finance minister, Katri Kulmuni, posted in 2019 an Internet poll asking if repatriating “[Finnish] children only” or “children and [Finnish] mothers” from the al-Hol camp in Syria.
Tynkkynen, who was convicted three times for ethnic agitation, likes to give the image of a “tolerant” politician since he is gay and married to an African. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The last two, Mika Aaltola and Pekka Toveri, are fuelled by bravado and opportunism.
Aaltola is a media creation and Toveri is a general who likes to talk tough.
