The worst enemy of the Perussuomalaiset is the Perussuomalaiset. The recent opinion poll published by Yle is a source of hope that Finland is finally awakening from its 2011 general election nightmare, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* saw its MPs in parliament soar to 39 from five previously. The latest poll shows that the PS’ support…
Tag: Far-right parties
It’s the elephant in the room, stupid!
In the face of what is happening in the United States under President Donald Trump and the rise of far-right parties in Europe like the AfD of Germany, one may ask if we have crossed the point of no return. Finland’s municipal and county elections of April offer us a clear no to that question….
The cyanide capsule of the authoritarian ruler
One of the lessons that I learned from my native Argentina, is that political turmoil caused by autocrats like military rulers have their days counted when they believe they are invincible. Today, we are witnessing it in the United States under the Trump regime. As he promised, Trump is an autocrat from day one challenging…
Linkedin: Down the populist path
A good question is why the public’s fascination with far-right populism has caught on. US President Donald Trump is one sour example but so is the changing political landscape of Europe. In Finland, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (NCP) believes it can continue to do business with the anti-immigration Finns Party (PS) and form…
Helsinki Noir: A play reflecting troubled times will show today (25.1) at Botta, Museokatu 10, Helsinki
Come an watch today at 7 pm a wonderful play reflecting these troubled times at Botta, Museokatu 10, Helsinki. Below is a review that Migrant Tales wrote about Helsinki Noir at the end of December. “Writer and director Ahti Tolvanen, who is a member of the Migrant Tales board, has written a play that reflects hard and…
Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!
When Finns talk about expats, they usually mean those that are Finnish citizens and, most importantly, speak the Finnish or Swedish language. Apart from speaking on of Finland’s two official languages, your ethnic background plays a role as well. When you generalize, you risk walking on thin ice. I’ll take that risk, however, to make…
Linkedin: Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen: Liar, liar, pants are on fire, your nose is longer than a telephone wire
I’m surprised that the media and politicians are surprised by far-right Finns Party (PS)Interior Minister Mari Rantanen’s double-talk about favoring Christians over Muslims in next year’s quota refugee pick. Rantanen’s fishy denials that next year’s selection of quota refugees had anything to do with preferring Christians over Muslims, prompted the non-discrimination ombudsman to do some…
The rise of the far right exposes our failure and our propensity to racism
The rise of the far-right and their simplistic scapegoating of migrants and minorities reveals a sad reality hitting Europe. The rise of the far-right does not expose the obvious but the fact that we have failed to educate generations after the horrors of World War 2. If there is one matter that characterizes an autocratic…
Yahya Rouissi: When only BURANA* helps to understand the political headache
In my opinion In Finland, the far-right can be understood as an underlying connection of ideological alignment shared between political parties, political groups within parties, individuals. Ideological outlooks that are characterized by extreme nationalist, anti-immigrant, and too often racist views. These groups typically promote the preservation of a perceived “pure” or “authentic” white Finnish identity,…
A future in the rearview mirror: Four years of reflection of an immigrant in Finland
As the ‘car’ is effectively unreliable so there were more than just frequent stops to fuel more hate and share some racism to ‘touch base’ and distract the curious followers questioning the destination.