By Enrique Tessieri
A poll commissioned by Ilta-Sanomat gave the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party a big surprise. If the October municipal election took place today, the Greens would get 11% of the votes compared with 10% by the PS. The previous setback that the PS got from the Greens was in the presidential election, when an openly gay candidate beat two conservative anti-EU hopefuls, Timo Soini of the PS and Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party.
The poll showed that most of the votes would go to Kokoomus (26%) followed by the Social Democrats (17%) and Center Party (16%). The Left Alliance would get 8% while the Christian Democrats and Swedish People’s Party would attract 5% and 4%, respectively.
Before the April 17 election, which gave the PS their historic victory, the Greens were the only party that openly questioned and criticized Soini’s party.
The good showing of the Greens in the presidential election and in the Ilta-Sanomat poll could be voter payback and support for speaking out against a party that has disappointed many voters.
A lot of things can happen before the October municipal election but one matter is for certain: The PS’ journey south in the months ahead will be a bitter pill to swallow.
With such a prospect ahead, Migrant Tales believes that the far-right anti-immigration wing of the PS led by MP Jussi Halla-aho will step up their attacks against immigrants and visible minorities as the municipal election nears.
A good example of this was a proposal by hard-core far-right PS MP Olli Immonen who suggested that Eastern European Romany beggars should be forcibly deported out of Finland.
PS MP James Hirvisaari, who was fined for hate speech in December, has stepped up his attacks on Muslims in blog entry published today headlined “Belgiastan.”
Hei Migrant Tales. Could anyone tell me what exactly Hirvisaari wrote in his blog entry? Actually, I’m quite interested in knowing what he wrote since he is referring to Belgium, my native country.
From what I know, these Sharia4Belgium-chaps are a bunch of lunatics, clowns and pains in the asses. Their leader, Fouad Belkacem, is currently on trial for spreadin hate. He has in the past been convicted for petty crimes and some more serious crimes. He and his followers are surely not doing a great job when it comes to painting a positive picture of the Belgian Islam community. But they are not at all representative. That’s why I think they are getting way too much attention. They should be monitored though, because they are, after all, extremists.
But again, they do not at all represent your average Mohamed or Fatema in Belgium.
What they do represent is a segment of the immigrant (muslim) community which has radicalized because of the fact that they have lost touch with a society that has been dicriminating them for too long, on the labor market, in the media, on the streets, in the schools, etc.
All research points out that youths who do get the opportunity to participate in society, mainly throough work, very rapidly rejoin mainstream society. Nobody turns into an extremist overnight (and then again, it must be said that only a tiny fraction of this much besieged community takes on these extremist values and attitudes, which – actually – is very surprising given the fact that, yes, they haven’t had it easy being immigrants and all and especially since September 11th in the USA), it takes years and years of misunderstanding by society.
All this is no excuse, but it explains some of these extremists’ ideas and behaviour. So: work for everyone, equality for everyone, social justice for everyone and everyone, society as a whole, will benefit. Ignoring the underlying problems and only focusing on the symptoms leads to simplistic solutions, and eventually leads to the gas chambers.
And Hirvisaari and those PS people fearing a Muslim overtake in Europe and Finland : c’mon they are themselves as pathetic and extremist as the people from Sharia4Belgium. And it bothers me that they are focusing expressly on a tiny fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the immigrant community to blacken (pun not intended ? ) and stigmatize all foreigners.
Racism is like a virus, it is a social disease. It is a symptom of a sick anti-social society. We need more social answers to social and economic problems instead of focusing on the clowns !
Hi Risto, actually James Hirvisaari didn’t write much. Check it out: http://jameshirvisaari.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/102348-belgistan
The only reason why Hirvisaari and his followers in the PS write about these things is because they want to turn around their poor poll standings, which are heading south. They will use any dirty trick in the book to get their hate message across.
As far as I am concerned, Hirvisaari is a far-right politician who likes to make up his reality. It’s a syndrome of the far right to move the goalposts and make up stories.
I agree, racism is a virus and social disease that we must challenge.
I viewed the fragment in the meantime. As I said, this docu focuses on a marginal phenomenon just to get their message through: all muslims are fanatics, quod non. The so-called Islam-specialist Sam Van Rooy by the way is a far right pseudo-scientist who tals b.s. about islam and who stands close to politicians like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and the political far right party Vlaams Belang in Belgium. It is moreover typical of the biased kind of journalism of broadcasters such as this Christian Broadcast Network that they offer a stage to outspoken right-wing critics of all things islam as Sam Van Rooy and Dewinter, without explicitly mentioning their extremist standpoints (e.g. Dewinter who is said to belong to the “right party in Belgium”. Oh my God, this guy is a f”ç’!ng nazi, his party has been convicted in Belgium for racism, after which it changed its name from Vlaams Blok to Vlaams Belang, mind you).
Thank you Risto for clearing this video clip up for us. Anything coming from Hirvisaari is pretty suspect and should be treated with tweezers.
–Oh my God, this guy is a f”ç’!ng nazi, his party has been convicted in Belgium for racism, after which it changed its name from Vlaams Blok to Vlaams Belang, mind you).
Did shows you a lot about people like James Hirvisaari and his bunch. They are a menace to our society all the way in the worst order. David Dukes of Finland.
Risto
It didn’t take much to research the background of this fundamentalist Christian Broadcasting Network. It’s owner is Pat Robinson.
From Wikipedia:
“Robertson has issued multiple condemnations of feminism,[40] homosexuality,[41] abortion[42] and liberal college professors.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson
The week of September 11, 2001, Robertson discussed the terror attacks with Jerry Falwell, who said that “the ACLU has to take a lot of blame for this” in addition to “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the lesbians [who have] helped [the terror attacks of September 11th] happen.” Robertson replied, “I totally concur.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-CAcdta_8I
His view on Haiti’s earthquake is that Haiti’s founders had sworn a “pact to the Devil” in order to liberate themselves from the French slave owners and indirectly attributed the earthquake to the consequences of the Haitian people being “cursed” for doing so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TE99sAbwM
Pat Robertson Thinks Homosexuality is a ‘Demonic Possession’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_uU7gSqdmc