What kinds of feelings does this campaign ad by Kokoomus hopeful Wille Rydman invoke? Does it play into the anti-immigration sentiment gripping Finland at present or offer viable solutions to make immigration work for Finland? Is he just another opportunistic politician that uses the anti-immigration card to lure votes?
In order to answer that question, you would have to ask to whom this ad it directed to. Immigrants? Or Finns who just cannot stomach cultural diversity?
Rydman, who has been labelled by some of his own party members as the Halla-aho of Kokoomus, suggested on June 10 in a letter to the editor to Helsingin Sanomat that the state should not finance multiculturalism but instead Finnish language courses. There is a wealth of evidence that shows that if you deny people their right to express their identity you create mental health and social problems.
Rydman appears to have a simplistic view of culture. He has not read nor knows of such studies that show how important identity is to a person.
Is voting for Rydman synonymous with defending immigrants’ rights?
You decide. What do you think?
