The kiss of death of Finnish right-wing populism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The election victory by the Perussuomalaiset could be attributed to a number of factors and bears all the signs of the same illness spreading throughout Europe these days: right-wing populism that is anti-EU, anti-immigration and above all anti-Islam. The PS could have never dreamed of such success in the last election without the help of Kokoomus, Social Democratic Party and Center Party.

The PS should offer gratitude to their usual victims: immigrants, refugees and minorities.

But all of this would not have been possible for the PS without the help of the ogre of xenophobia that has lurked relatively hidden in Finnish society. Politicians in this country have known about this social ill for decades but have rarely challenged it.

If you speak to some who have been long-serving MPs, they know about that monster but have preferred to distance themselves from it because they know it could destroy their political careers.

All those parties that were openly pro-EU or faintly outspoken on racism suffered. The Greens are a good example never mind the Center Party, the biggest loser in the election. Could  former Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi’s Center Party have suffered such a heavy defeat if it weren’t for her pro-EU and outspoken stance against racism?

Another factor that spurred the PS to new heights was a watershed statement in March 2010 by Kokoomus chairman Jyrki Katainen, who stated that being critical and debating immigrant issues in this country didn’t make you a racist. After that green light to racism was given, the Social Democratic leadership gave the PS another pat on the back with their infamous saying, maassa maan tavalla.

Like all major parties in Finland, each have their fair share of anti-immigration critics. No party, however, like the PS, has so many.

A good lesson to be learned from the election is that if you vacillate and offer flimsy leadership on an issue like racism you will become its prize.

Another matter that the election showed is that xenophobia is a social ill inflicting Finland.

Now is a better time than ever for concerned politicians and the general public to send that ogre back to where it came from: the gutter.

Perussuomalaiset: True, Basic or Elementary Finns?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

I called the Perussuomalaiset’s headquarters in Helsinki today and asked what their official name was in English: “True Finns is the official adopted name,” a male voice said. Migrant Tales’ oldest blogger, Jonas, has brought up this contradiction between the Finnish and English translation of the word perus a number of times.

One way of resolving a translation of a name is by asking the official name in that language. The problem with “True” Finn is that it implies that all other people who don’t support the party are imposters, or “False” Finns.

If we look at the translation of the word perus on EUdict,  it can mean in English basic, basal, elementary, fundamental and rudimentary to name a few. Unless you want to fool the English-speaking public, true is a poor and deceptive translation of the word perus.

I think a name like Rudimentary Finn would fit better the character and non-existent political background of some of the newly elected PS MPs like Teuvo Hakkarainen.

For this reason, I personally will start calling the party Perussuomalaiset or PS.

HS: Perussuomalaisten Teuvo Hakkaraiselle kaikki eduskunnassa oli uutta

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is a pretty incredible video with English subtitles of newly elected PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who appears to have never seen or met a foreigner in his life.  He is one face of the Perussuomalaiset and it’s a pretty crude one at that.

Check out how MP Hakkarainen insults at the end of the video below immigrants and Muslims.

His comments have already angered Perparim Hetemaj, the brother of Fatbardhe, who ran unsuccessfully for MP for Kokoomus. You can read the story on Ilta-Sanomat.

As I mentioned earlier, these are only the first acts of a four-year tragic-comic play.

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“Tuo maahanmuuttohomma pitää saada kuriin”, Hakkarainen sanoo.

To see video (in Finnish) click here.

YLE: Halla-aho to Chair Committee in Charge of Immigration

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Does this story need any further explanation except probably an old Argentinean saying: “No evil lasts for a hundred years.” The saying states that a human cannot carry out evil deeds indefinitely because he doesn’t live a hundred years.

Certainly the PS are not an evil party but their aim to carve divisions within society and capitalize and stoke the fires of xenophobia are unacceptable.

Becoming more estranged and hostile to the outside world will have dire consequences not only for our society but hit our economy. Skilled workers will be reluctant to move here never mind foreign investment. Sensible and open-minded Finns with a future will seek employment in friendlier countries.

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True Finns have nominated candidates for chairing the parliamentary committees they have received leadership over. Jussi Halla-aho, who has sternly criticised immigration in his blog, is to become chairman of the Administration Committee, the responsibilities of which include immigration policies.

Read whole story.

True Finns: The first and last act of a tragic-comic play

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Even if Finland has changed politically after Sunday’s election, there has been a greater about-turn among some True Finns. One particular group that form part of the anti-immigration Nuiva manifesto group, now attempt to appear like respectable elected MPs conveniently brushing under the rug those terrible things they said about immigrants.

The six who signed the Nuiva election manifesto and whom I am specifically referring to are: Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, Juho Erola, Olli Immonen and Maria Lohela.

One of these that I would like to pick out from the group is railway engineer James Hirvisaari. He is a member of the far-right Suomen Sisu association. Hirvisaari believes that  Finns should not marry foreigners.

After bashing and insulting Muslims and immigrants with gusto, he now attempts to portray himself as the most reasonable man in the world. If you have read his blog entries you will notice his obsession with adjectives. He sort of tries to do a Gabriel García Marquez by writing long sentences but ends up stuck in a paper bag.

In one of his recent blog entries, Minkälaisessa Suomessa haluan asua? (What kind of Finland would I want to live in?),  we see him turn into a Dr. Jekyll from a Mr. Hyde.

Hirvisaari writes that he is in favor of maintaining the welfare state (Does he mean Finns can only use these services?), freedom of speech (he can insult other groups and thereby  score political brownie points) and behold: equality, human rights and democracy.

Is the newly elected MP pulling our leg or does he think we have a short memory? If he were fair, he should mention that all people living in Finland enjoy these rights.

So stay tuned and step right up folks! The next four years are going to be the first and hopefully last act of this tragic-comic play.

Finland election: A message that goes much deeper

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After the election victory of the True Finns on Sunday, sensible Finns are asking Timo Soini’s party to bite the bullet and leave behind the rhetoric and racism that has tainted his party. This may be easier said than done.

Nobody is denying the True Finns their victory but there is great concern that the rise of such a party will fuel hatred, racism, division in society and social inequality.

Such an argument is not out-of-place nor is it alarmist. What kind of Finland do you expect to create if you start attacking the Swedish-speakers, minorities,  immigrants, refugees and all those who do not fit under the “good-fatherland” category?

When a Jussi Halla-aho openly praises the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party and its policies, he is not speaking only about restricting a certain group of immigrants from a country but changing our values as a nation. Such a message poisons the atmosphere stressing differences between people.

What is tragic is that its victims are not the future immigrants and refugees that want to come here but those who have embraced Finland as their home. They are the ones who contribute to this society, work hard and pay taxes.

If you spread the message of hatred and suspicion of other cultures it spills over to the whole immigrant community and, worse, tells their children that Finland is not their home and then claim that people don’t integrate rapidly enough. What kind of society will you build when you instil hostility, racism and exclusion? The answer is obvious.

Such a populist-xenophobic message is also an insult to the over million Finns that live abroad who still have bonds to this nation. The message is a slap in their faces with a rude message: This is our country, not yours.

Is this the type of Finland we want to build in this century? Is it what our grandparents and great grandparents fought for? Didn’t they sacrifice their lives in the Winter War to spare Finland from becoming a totalitarian nation where everyone looks and thinks alike?

The rise of nationalism and racism is like pissing in one pants in the freezing winter. At first the warmth feels fine but then a terrible sensation sets in when the urine cools. You blame others for your shortsightedness and predicament.

HS: Halla-aho refuses to comment on controversial blog entries

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Newly elected MP for the True Finns, Jussi Halla-aho, who is a member of the the far-right Suomen Sisu association and believes Finland should take the same Islamophobic route as Denmark, refuses to answer a question by a Helsingin Sanomat reporter. The reporter asks if the MP-elect still stands behind what he wrote in 2005 that some don’t have the same human dignity as other groups.

He wrote in 2005:  “Individuals can justifiably be placed in a hierarchy of values according to how the removal of their abilities or skills from the use of the community would weaken the community.”

Taking into account that Halla-aho has expressed interest in becoming the next minister for migration and European affairs, the reporter rightly grills him with the same question. The MP-elect refuses to answer and prefers instead to hang up the phone.

Halla-aho later wrote on the anti-immigraton website Hommaforum: “I would hope that we could take the road of Denmark, where no major confrontations have emerged. Instead, critical thinking about immigration has spread to other parties, a little bit like green thinking has spread in Finland.”

Migrant Tales has written on numerous occasions that Halla-aho and his followers find strong ideological solidarity with Islamophobic parties like the Danish People’s Party, Sweden Democrats and others.

Here is a blog called Freodom that wrote in 2007 about Halla-aho’s view of minorities. It reinforces what people know about him today. I wonder if he ever thought his writings would come to haunt him in 2011.

The blogger writes: “Apparently, to a lot of people his views are sensible. I believe he’s a dangerous man. Simply put, Halla-aho is popularizing racism and intolerance. His blog is seemingly totally dedicated to vilifying the immigrant population of Finland and prophesying the cultural takeover of Europe by the African-Muslim hordes.”

It is a good matter that reporters are asking some tough questions of some PS candidates who have based their election campaign on xenophobia and sub-rosa far-right ideology.

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Hanna Kaarto

Blog article from 2005 questions notion of human equality

Jussi Halla-aho, a nationalist politician from Helsinki, got 14,884 votes in Sunday’s Parliamentary elections, winning him a seat in Parliament on the True Finns party ticket. Halla-aho had established a reputation with his writings on the Internet.

Read whole story.

If you want to read the original story in Finnish click here.

Demari: Syrjinnällä ei sijaa hallituspolitiikassa

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:An editorial in Demari states that the Social Democratic Party should not form part of a government that supports exclusion and hostility towards   immigrants, refugees and  lowering development aid. The editorial of the daily of the Social Democratic Party is like a whiff of fresh air after the PS scored its historical election victory on Sunday. 

Like all of the traditional political parties in Finland, the Social Democrats have a lot of sensible veteran politicians among their ranks. Didn’t the party play an important role in building Finland’s welfare state?

The Social Democrats are divided along two camps concerning immigration: Eero Heinäluoma-Jutta Urpilainen, the current leadership that brought us maassa maan tavala, and those who disagree. Former foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja belongs to the latter camp. 

Tuomioja is interviewed in a separate article in Demari on his views on the ongoing talks to form government with Kokoomus and PS.

As we know, there are anti-immigration representatives in all Finnish parties but not as many and as outspoken as among the PS. 

Caving in to xenophobia and ultra-conservative values that encourage gender and social inequality in our society is not the path that Finland should take. Fortunately Kokoomus and the Social Democrats are not in favor of building a PS romantic problem-free all-white Finland that never existed and where post-modern art is scorned.

The threat to the PS will not come from abroad but from the political monster that Soini has created.  Feeding that monster will be its simplistic and hostile views of minorities, women and the outside world.

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Eduskuntavaalien tulos huolestuttaa suurta osaa kansaa. Perussuomalaisten suurvoiton pelätään muuttavan Suomen maaksi, jossa suvaitsevaisuutta, kansainvälisyyttä ja monikulttuurisuutta arvostavat eivät tunne oloaan kotoiseksi. Monet uhkaavat muuttaa muualle.

Read whole story.

Suomen Kuvalehti.fi: Arvovaalit? Päinvastoin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: This column by Hanna Leivonniemi shows how the Finnish media and the politicians avoided debating during the campaign issues like the role of tolerance of minorities in our society. You guessed it: the media and politicians failed miserably on this front. 

True Finns’ chairman Timo Soini was even asked at an TV election debate what he thought about Jussi Halla-aho, a candidate of the True Finns and a member of the far-right Suomen Sisu association. Soini not only said Halla-aho did a good job as a Helsinki city councilman but the rest of the candidates didn’t even bother to question Soini’s remark.  

Silence is another form of tacit approval of the role of racism in our society. The Finnish media has played a role in this silence.    

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Hanna Leivonniemi

Kun maahanmuuttovastaisuudestaan tunnetut ruotsidemokraatit viime syksynä näyttivät tuplaavan äänimääränsä Ruotsin valtiopäivillä, ruotsalainen yhteiskunta, media sen mukana, ryhtyi vastarintaan.

Read whole story.

True Finns’ Soini lashes out at the foreign media

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

While True Finns’ chairman Timo Soini tries to calm Finns and the outside world that “we’re not extremists, so you can sleep safely,” an eerie lull prevails over Finland as talks begin on forming a coalition government with Kokoomus, Social Democrats and the True Finns. Soini’s most recent outbreak was with the Swedish media, whom he branded on MTV3 as “unbelievable.”

One of the interesting debates going on between people in Finland is figuring out a suitable adjective to describe the True Finns.

Is it a racist party, xenophobic, protest, nationalistic, euroskeptic, ultra-conservative/conservative, populist, far-right or all or none of the above? Probably the answer to that question lies in the following query: What do the True Finns support, according to their election manifesto and blog writings of some of their newly elected MPs?

Would we call the True Finns a party that has spoken out against racism in Finland? Has it championed for women’s rights and gender equality? What about its views on pollution and its relationship with the outside world and Russia? Should Finland ditch the European Monetary Union and eventually the European Union? Do they approve and encourage cultural diversity? If so how is it realized? What about same-sex marriages? What do they think about Islam?

The BBC reports: “They (True Finns) believe that a low birth rate is not solved by immigration, as that results in problems and foreigners do not fit into Finnish culture. Instead, young women should study less and spend more time giving birth to pure Finnish children. That is like a faint echo of Nazi ideology.”

If Soini disagrees with these types of descriptions of his party, he should come out and condemn forcefully those in the True Finns who preach such things indirectly or directly.

If we look at Europe’s right-wing populist parties that have grown in recent years, their popularity is based on three contentions: hostility to Brussels, immigration and Islam. In many respects, the True Finns are no different in their “critical stance” of these three matters.

Some elected True Finns like Jussi Halla-aho, a member of the far-right Suomen Sisu association, said on election eve that the election victory was attributable to its anti-immigration and anti-EU stance.

In a cat-and-mouse game trying not to reveal the true face of the party, Soini has said that only 10% of the support that the True Finns got comes from anti-immigration. Whom do you believe?

I am certain that electing a party like the True Finns will not undermine xenophobia, racism and inequality in this country because the party indirectly gives its blessing to people who support these types of social illnesses.

Thanks to the independent media in Finland and abroad we can rest assured that politicians like Soini, True Finns and other parties won’t be able to mold their own comfortable image of themselves to the public.

There is a lot of concern in Finland as well as abroad about what the rise of a populist, anti-immigration and euroskeptic party implies for our country and Europe. That is why so much has been written about the True Finns as of late.