It would be wrong to just blame the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* for Finland’s racism problem. The rise of the PS after the 2011 election would not have been possible without the direct and indirect support of other political parties, the media, and the public.
When results of the 2011 election started to appear on television screens, which placed the PS in the major political leagues after 39 MPs were elected versus five previously, a perilous watershed was crossed. Back then, Migrant Tales was one of the few voices in Finland warning about the rise of the PS.
My concern was even heard by Time Magazine.
But let’s go to the original question in the headline: Are we waking up to our country’s racism problem?
As mentioned, it would be misleading to just blame the PS for the growth of this problem.
Finland’s racism problem, which is a pretty serious social ill, has grown thanks to denial and playing down the problem. If Riikka Purra’s writing was concerning, they will be small fries when compared with the hostility our culturally diverse communities will endure when we grow bigger and demand our rights and public spaces, which rightfully belong to us, too.
I hope that I am wrong, but matters will worsen in Finland since the whole “immigration topic” offers political power. As we have seen in other parts of Europe and in countries like Denmark, mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party will have to become more radical in their stances on migration to beat the PS in elections.
Denmark’s Social Democratic Party and the near-obliteration of the Danish People’s Party offer a case in point.
Since minorities and migrants are excluded from the debate and hold little power in Finland, the unfavorable development will gain more inertia in the future despite the “zero-tolerance” promises of the present government.
