One of the reasons why racism has lifted its head with so much confidence in Finland is the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which leads in the polls. If social ills like far-right populism and racism are threats to society, why does it gain ground?
One of the reasons, I believe, is naivety. They believe that the way to end racism in Finland is to hit it with a soft stick. Such a strategy will not make racism go away but strengthen it.
Those believing in Hollywood endings to racism are white people who don’t experience racism but speak on behalf of those that do.
Kenneth Sikorski, a writer who has written a lot about antisemitism and radical Islam in Finland, was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as stating that the approach to the latter issues is “extremely blue-eyed.”
“Successive Finnish governments could be accurately described as extremely ‘blue-eyed,’ especially during the last decade or so in their relations with Iran,” he said. “Part of the problem seems to lie with Finnish politicians who truly believe that having a dialogue – any dialogue, regardless of who is on the opposite side of the table – is better than having no dialogue at all. So you can easily end up with the equivalent of a businessman trying to reach an agreement with Al Capone.”
It’s time to smell the coffee: Far-right parties that are racist and populist are a threat to our Nordic way of life.