Spiegel Online International: Denmark To Get First Female Prime Minister

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  The Social Democrats have created election history in Denmark Thursday. They not only ended ten years of right-wing rule in Denmark and the role of the right-wing populist and xenophobic Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) in the passage of anti-immigration legislation,  but will give the country its first  woman prime minister.

The center-left alliance led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt won in Thursday’s election 92 of the 179 seats of the Danish parliament.

“We did it. We wrote history,” said Thorning-Schmidt.

Thorning-Schmidt, who has vowed to stem the influence of the DPP, which has divided Danish society and changed dramatically the political culture of the country. The DPP is the Perussuomalaiset’s unofficial mentor party on immigration and refugee policy.

Writes Spiegel Online International: “In recent years, the Danish People’s Party has been a regular fixture in the international headlines. At one point, the party calculated the total cost of foreign immigrants to the country. It also succeeded in forcing the government to implement permanent border controls, sidestepping the Schengen Agreement on open borders and alienating Denmark from its European Union neighbors. Most recently, party leader Pia Kjaersgaard pledged that all Danes would be provided with free supplies of pepper spray.

“There is a large consensus going deep into conservative Danish circles that the cooperation between the conservative-liberals and the conservatives in government with the right-populists ruined the country’s political culture,” the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten wrote in an editorial. “It was time for a new government. An era in Danish politics has ended.”

Pentti Joenniemi, who has lived as a researcher in Denmark for fifteen years, said in Kansan Uutiset Viikolehti that Denmark’s xenophobic streak stems from the lack of outside enemies. Immigrants have then become the “enemy,” according to him. Joenniemi believes that  Finland is following the same path as  Denmark. As Russia becomes less of a threat, xenophobia will begin to lift its head in Finland in the same way it has in Denmark.

_______________

Danes awoke to a change of power on Friday after election results showed a narrow loss for the long-ruling center-right government. The country’s new center-left leader will be the first woman prime minister in Danish history, but Helle Thorning-Schmidt faces difficult coalition talks ahead.

Read whole story.

Elections in Nordic Region send clear message to Finland’s PS

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Anti-immigration populist parties in Norway and Denmark have suffered defeats in recent elections after mass-killer Anders Breivik went on the rampage on July 22. Both blows came this month. The first one was in the Norwegian municipal election, where the Progress Party (FrP) saw its support plunge by  6.1 percentage points to 11.5%. The second one happened Thursday in Denmark.

The neck-and-neck election in Denmark, which gave the left-leaning alliance led by the Social Democrats a victory, meant in effect an end to the pivotal role that the far-right Danish People’s Party (DPP) has played in the passage of strict immigration laws.

The election was historic since it will give Denmark its first-ever woman prime minister. The prime minister-elect, Helle Thoring-Schmidt, has said that she will refuse to work with the DPP and thereby stunt the influence of Pia Kjærsgaard’s party.

Even though Breivik forced voters in the Nordic region and Europe to think twice before supporting parties that use immigration as a populist ploy to prop up support, it was only a question of time when the anti-immigration message of the FrP and DPP would reach a dead-end. How long can people feed off xenophobia and simplistic views of other cultures and the world?

The big question to ask now is how the election results in Norway and Denmark will impact the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in 2012, when Finland holds presidential and municipal elections.

Voters in Norway, Denmark and even in Sweden, where the far-right Sweden Democrats have seen their support decline in a post-Breivik world, have spoken: We don’t like hate speech, far-right nationalism and populism. It should not characterize our political system.

One of the reasons why the PS still does well in the polls in Finland is because it has become today an anti-EU party as opposed to one that is mainly anti-immigration. If PS MP Juss Halla-aho and his cronies would have gone on the anti-immigration rampage as they did before the April election, Timo Soini’s party would probably have seen a sharp fall in its popularity today.

It would be naive, however, to think that the PS has now shifted course on its anti-immigration message. It is still there as an undercurrent ready to  surface when the political situation is opportune.

Voters in Finland, like those in Norway and Denmark, should make it clear next year that we in Finland want a civil debate about immigration not one characterized by free-for-all hate speech.

Newsday: Danish exit polls show opposition winning election

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  Exit polls in Denmark show that the left-leaning opposition Social Democratic Party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt winning a majority int he 179-sea parliament. The best news to come out of Denmark is that this puts an end to the right-wing populist Danish People’s Party (DPP) role in forcing the country to have the strictest immigration laws in Europe.

Since 2001, minority right-wing governments have relied on the support of the DPP. 

If Thorning-Schmidt’s bloc wins the election, she will become the first woman to lead the Danish government.

The Social Democrats have refused to work with the DPP and have said publicly that they will stem the influence of Pia Kjærsgaard’s party.

Migrant Tales will publish more on the Danish elections later on.

______________

Danish voters appeared set to elect their first female prime minister Thursday and end 10 years of pro-market reforms and a hardening of immigration laws.

Read whole story here.

YLE: Halla-aho suspended for two weeks

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  The big question concerning the suspension of Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho after his statement in Facebook on Wednesday is who won the row: Halla-aho or PS party leader Timo Soini? It is quite clear that Halla-aho did.

Soini gave his answer in a quote on Iltalehti: “I wasn’t humilitated (by the decision).”

If I had my way, I would have suspended Halla-aho for good or for at least a month for making such an undemocratic statement. The PS, and especially the far-right faction led by Halla-aho, are like the bully at school who is constantly testing his limits to see how much injury he can cause on his victim.

Considering the racist gaffes by PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen and all the revelations that have arisen about him recently, it is clear that the PS doesn’t care too much about the spread of racism in Finland nor about de facto regimes popping up in EU countries.

The biggest loser is not only Soini’s credibility but that of Finland’s as well.

It is, however, a thumbs up to all the anti-immigration and far-right fanatics in Europe.

_____________

The Finns party MP Jussi Halla-aho was suspended for two weeks by his parliamentary group on Thursday afternoon following Facebook comments deemed inappropriate by the party.

Read whole story.

Uusi Suomi: Halla-ahon ryöpytys jatkuu: ”Rasisti”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Media culture Professor Mikko Lehtonen calls Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Jussi Halla-aho a racist. “Halla-aho encourages in his blog to ponder what he writes and ask if he is a racist,” Lehtonen was quoted as saying on Uusi Suomi. “I took the challenge seriously and it took me three minutes to conclude that Jussi Halla-aho is a racist.”

Lehtonen does not stop here: “In light of his writings, Halla-aho is anti-immigration and a racist.”

If there is someone who has done a lot of harm to the immigrant community in Finland that person is Halla-aho and his cronies. He has done a lot to soil the good name of immigrants and refugees in this country  with his provocative arguments based  on stereotypes and racism.

But there is one matter wrong with Halla-aho: His false arguments about immigrants and racism have caught up with him. Sensible people are asking if they are true.

Halla-aho is directly administrates Scripta and is involved closely with Hommaforum. 

Lehtonen, who was interviewed on Wednesday, said that while anti-immigration groups attempt to dress their racism by arguing that they are the defending “genuine” Finnish culture, the best that one can do is accept that our society will be more diverse in the future.

We have said it many times on Migrant Tales: Acceptance and inclusion are key in creating a successful and dynamic culturally diverse Finnish society.

_________________

Suomalaista maahanmuuttokeskustelua riivaa eliitin kummallinen hyssyttelykulttuuri. Maahanmuuttokriittisten, niin kutsuttujen hommalaisten, vastapainoksi ei ole syntynyt kunnollista poliittista oppositiota, joka tarjoaisi vaihtoehdon keskustelun pohjalla kytevälle rasismille.

Read whole story.

YLE: Soini demands temporary explusion of Halla-aho from Finns party parliamentary group

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: It certainly looks like troubles are brewing in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party after far-right MP Jussi Halla-aho took a bigger piece of his foot in his mouth than usual. With total disregard for a troubled EU member state and our European democratic values,  Halla-aho suggested on Facebook that Greece should install a military junta and suppress protestors with tanks.

PS head Timo Soini, who is upset by what Halla-aho said, is proposing expelling the MP for a month from the parliamentary group.

The controversial PS MP, who is chairman of the administration committee, has been known to make provocative statements in the past by insulting Muslims and our cultural diversity. He apparently does so to “awaken people” to his distorted view of the world. 

For a country like Finland, which prizes itself for defending human rights and promoting social equality, Halla-aho’s statement is a rude slap in the face to this country. It could be seen as a fleeting return to the 1930s, when fascism was on the rise in Finland and most of Europe.

Adding salt to injury, Halla-aho overlooked the painful fact for Greeks that they were ruled by a military junta in 1967-74. Probably this type of a de facto government, which has no respect for basic human rights, is the one that Halla-aho wants immigrants and minorities to live under in Finland.

The row between Soini and Halla-aho is the first of many public cracks that will cause the PS to lose credibility in the coming months. Certainly if the PS can be the PS without its usual dose of xenophobia and conservative nationalism, Soini’s decision may even strengthen the party.

But the jury is out and the problems of the PS are starting to surface. It’s not a pretty picture.

______________

The leader of the Finns party, Timo Soini, has demanded the temporary expulsion of controversial MP Jussi Halla-aho from the party’s parliamentary group. The move follows a writing on Facebook made on Wednesday by Halla-aho in which he said a military junta could best solve Greek crisis by using tanks to crush protestors.

Read whole story.

HS.fi: Soini sai puolustella omiaan Pietarissakin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: One of the surprising matters about the ongoing debate in Finland on immigrants, immigration and refugees is that politicians forget that their comments have a much wider audience than they think. This is especially true of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, which has poured on with gusto its anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric up to the April election.

This time Russian journalists in St. Petersburg had the opportunity to quiz PS chairman Timo Soini about his party’s anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Russian sentiment.

Soini told the journalists that for him Norway was a model country that he’d want Finland to emulate. In his usual populist style, Soini forgot to mention that Finland does not have such a luxury because it isn’t the Saudi Arabia of Europe like Norway.

A question by a Russian journalist caught Soini by surprise when he asked the PS leader if a Breivik-type killer would emerge in Finland if we followed in Norway’s footsteps.

Soini disagreed because he said that there was no relation between the two matters.

__________

Perussuomalaiset ja Timo Soini kiinnostivat pietarilaistoimittajia tiistaina enemmän kuin kaupungissa vieraileva eduskunnan ulkoasiainvaliokunta. Venäläistoimittajat tenttasivat valiokunnan puheenjohtajaa Soinia etenkin perussuomalaisten viileästä suhtautumisesta Euroopan unioniin ja maahanmuuttoon, mukaan lukien venäläisiin.

Read whole story.

Der Spiegel International: Right-Wing Populists Face Test in Denmark

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The right-wing populist Danish People’s Party will face an important election test on Thursday two months after right-wing fanatic Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway. The first test for anti-immigration populist parties came this month in the Norwegian municipal elections, were the Progress Party saw its support plummet by 6.1 percentage points to 11.5%.

Migrant Tales predicted shortly after Breivik’s mass killings in Norway that an important watershed was crossed and that support, at least momentarily, would wane for anti-immigration parties in the Nordic Region.

A Megafon poll for Politiken and TV2News published on September 12 showed that the opposition alliance will win 92 seats compared with the government’s 83 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Ten years of sustaining a minority government in Denmark has permitted the Danish People’s Party to turn the country’s immigration legislation into Europe’s strictest. Here is a story on The Local of Sweden that highlights the problems that some multicultural couples face due in Denmark.

Karsten Dybvad, the CEO of the Danish Confederation of Industries, suggested on Politiken that Denmark’s strong anti-immigration and especially anti-Muslim stance have hurt the country’s image abroad.  “We have surveys showing that businesses feel we have problems with our cultural openness and image abroad. That is of course something we would like to help improve,” Dybvad says.

Contrary to Norway, Denmark and Sweden, where the Sweden Democrats have lost support in a recent poll, the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party continues to receive strong support in Finland. This maybe partly explained by the fact that the PS is now emphasizing more of its anti-EU side rather than its opposition to immigration.

_________

Just two months after the politically inspired massacre in Norway, a right-wing populist party, one of Europe’s most influential, will face a test of voter sentiment at the ballot box. The Danish People’s Party has been instrumental in tightening at least 20 laws pertaining to immigration and migration.

Read whole story.

MTV3: Linja-autoliikennöitsijät: Rasismi ei ole lisääntynyt

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an excellent example below what is wrong in Finland with the ongoing debate on racism. The story below is apparently a rebuttal to another one published in Savon Sanomat, where Riita Wärn of the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK), warns that growing racism in Finland could hinder its image and scare off skilled immigrants from moving to this country. 

While it is a good matter that a predominantly white Finnish lobby group is making such a statement, another white Finnish person, general manager Janne Vihavainen of bus company Veolia Transport affirms that racism isn’t growing in Finland. “We cannot state that racism has grown significantly in Finland,” he said.

What worries me  about these types of debates like between Wärn and Vihavainen is that there are no immigrants or visible minorities giving their opinion on the matter. Even though I side with the woman from EK and commend that association for speaking out against such a social ill, there are still no immigrants giving their opinion.

Are immigrants or their associations too afraid to speak out? Do reporters shy from asking them if there is racism in Finland because they feel uncomfortable about what they may hear and have to write?

We don’t have to use a real immigrant such a question. Why not ask a Multicultural Finn if there is racism in this country?

The question is why we don’t ask these groups this important question.

_______________

Viljami Vuorento

Pääkaupunkiseudun linja-autoliikennöitsijät eivät allekirjoita Elinkeinoelämän Keskusliiton Savon Sanomille kertomaa näkemystä rasismin lisääntymisestä. EK:n työvoima- ja maahanmuuttopolitiikan asiantuntijan Riitta Wärnin mukaan maahanmuuttajiin on alettu viime vuoden aikana suhtautua aiempaa penseämmin. Erityisen huolissaan EK on maahanmuuttajavaltaisten alojen työvoimapulasta.

Read whole story.

Savon Sanomat: Rasismi uhkaa Suomen mainetta

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) is concerned about racism in Finland and how it could tarnish the country’s good image and scare off skilled immigrants.”Before drunkards would yell (at immigrants) at night,” said EK’s Riita Wärn. “Harassment now happens at day. This is very worrying.”

While it is a positive sign that more pressure groups and common Finns are speaking out against racism, I am pretty certain that the election victory of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in April already tarnished the country’s image.  The PS doesn’t have to worry about skilled labor coming to Finland because there are more attractive and friendlier countries to move to in Europe.

Even if racism and discrimination is raising its head in Finland, the most probable thing is that it always existed but never had a reason to come out in such force as today.

Do you agree?

__________

Jukka Patrakka

Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto (EK) on huolissaan ulkomaalaisten lisääntyneestä häirinnästä. EK:n mukaan asenteet ovat koventuneet selvästi viimeisen vuoden aikana. Varsinkin turvapaikanhakijoihin ja romanikerjäläisiin, mutta myös muihin maahanmuuttajiin on alettu suhtautua penseästi.

Read whole story.