Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Olli Immonen appears to be on a crusade lined with pipe dreams. Immonen, who is chairman of the far-right Suomen Sisu association, which discourages white Finns from marrying foreigners, wrote that “the people” should grab power and start “a nationalistic revolution.”
Pekka Venamo, the former leader of the Finnish Rural Party (SMP), has linked Immonen’s ideology to that of the Nazis.
Certainly Immonen, who got reelected with 4,875 votes, believes his racist and far-right views are ok since this is what his voters want to hear.
But how is it possible that a country that claims to have one of the best educational systems in the world has so many people that house hostile views of people who are different from them? Finland should watch itself and a remarkable amount of leadership is needed from us to ensure that we don’t drive a stake through the heart of this country by isolating ourselves from Europe and feeding off our bigotry.
This is Suomen Sisu’s view of multicultural marriages.
We all know what Immonen means by “nationalistic revolution.” In plain English it is an open declaration of war against migrants and minorities in Finland.
In the 1980s there was a button that anti-racism activists wore and which would be appropriate today in light of the xenophobia we’re seeing in today’s Finland: Don’t shove my buddy, or älä töni mun kaveri.
Those shoves and hostility that we are seeing emerging from parties like the PS and MPs like Immonen are the clearest indication how the ogre of racism has lifted its head in this country.
How long do you want to keep on hiding your head in the sand?
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The names adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.