Perussuomalaiset Archives - Page 103 of 161

What will the April 2015 elections of Finland reveal about ourselves as a country?

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Migrant Tales

It’s clear that the parliamentary elections of April 2015 in Finland will reveal a lot of matters about this country. In many respects it’s like strip tease joint where women or men, disguised as political parties, take off their clothes. Sexuality isn’t being shown in bare flesh but in political ideologies such as racism, whiteness, anti-cultural diversity, anti-EU and nostalgia of a Finland that only existed in our imagination.

The anti-immigration, far-right and populist winds blowing over Europe should concern us. But it is a good sign as well that there is a lot of opposition, thanks to social media, against such social ills. Pulling a 1933 political stunt on a country could be more difficult today than over eighty years ago, when Nazi Germany came into being.

As April 19 nears in Finland, it’s clear that anti-immigration voices are getting louder and more hostile. Should it surprise us then that the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* which claims to have sacked all of its racists and fascists, is leading the charge on this front?

Finland’s darkest political period in this century (2011-15) could be seen in the same light as the half-a-century old rants made by USAmerican racists of the South. What these Finnish politicians say today will make their great grandchildren’s faces turn red with shame. Racists always look ugly as time unmasks their lies.

There’s a very good column on City by Taneli Hämäläinen that summarizes, in my opinion, the way PS politicians switch the argument around. We’ve seen this on Migrant Tales on a number of occasions used by far-right anti-immigration voices. It’s like claiming that the Jews unleashed the Holocaust and the Nazis were their victims.

The issue is not asking how racist a country like Finland is, even though this is an important question, but what is our response as a society to such a social ill. Is there a response? If so, is it effective? If not, why?

You don’t have to be black or a member of an ethnic minority to understand how insulting and lowly some politicians will act to get votes and feed their narcism in the process.

But let’s go back to the main question of this posting: What will the April 2015 elections of Finland reveal about ourselves as a country?

It will reveal two things: If racism and fascism (1) are are growing or on the defensive.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

(1) Tiina Rosenberg gives a good definition of fascism as a political ideology that want to exclude other groups. The aim of fascism in Nazi Germany was based on an argument that they had to kick out and/or exterminate other minorities like the Jews, Roma and their political enemies in order to become a super race. Nazi war criminal Alfred Rosenberg, who was sentenced and hanged for war crimes, is a good example of this type of ideology. He writes about it in The myth of the twentieth century.

Too many Finnish politicians and parties are ignorant of their country’s migrant and refugee history

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Migrant Tales

-titta, en finne igen i fyllan!
-satans finjävlar!

-look, (a) drunken Finn!
-damn Finnish devils!

The infamous saying, en finne igen, yet another Finn, can be found in Urban Dictionary. The statement was used by Swedes to claim that Finns are “violent, primitive savages” because some have issues with learning Swedish and alcohol. After World War 2, hundreds of thousands of Finns emigrated to Sweden.

Watching YLE’s Pressiklubi and the debate between rector Tiina Rosenberg of the University of Arts Helsinki and Simon Elo, the head of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* youth league, it’s clear that the PS is one party that is very selective about how it treats Finnish history and racism.

One of the ways of tackling the prejudices that the Swedish media spread and reinforced about Finns in the 1970s was an active campaign by the Finnish embassy in Stockholm to meet the editors of different media. One of the outcomes of such lobbying was not labeling crime suspects to national origin.

Elo states on the interview that the PS has renounced racism but the party continues to act in the same way as the Swedish media did over 40 years ago when labeling Finns.

A good example is the latest edition of the party’s newspaper, Perussuomalainen, which claims in the most sensationalist language and images that Jihadists use refugee centers in Finland as holiday resorts. The pictures and the message of the story labels Muslims and migrants in Finland in the same way as the Finns were labelled once by the Swedish media.

Watch program here.

Moreover, when Rosenberg mentioned that many Finns emigrated to Sweden, Elo snapped back and stated that it was “an insult” to compare Finnish migrants to refugees that come to this country.

Elo, with his knee-jerk statement, exposes in one sentence the prejudices that this country has for refugees.

This shouldn’t surprise us since the term is loathed in the Finnish language so much that the 420,000 Karelians that were forced to flee their homes after the Continuation War (1941-44) are called evacuees, or evakkot, not refugees.

For some strange reason as well, Soviet citizens that defected to Finland during the cold war were never seen as refugees, which they were.

Elo’s statement, that one cannot compare asylum-seekers that come to Finland to Finnish emigrants that moved to Sweden because they “were hardworking,” exposes not only the PS politician’s ignorance of this country’s history but the myths that his party is reinforcing and spreading.

What does it say about Finland as well, a country that has seen over 1.2 million emigrants between 1860 and 1999 and resettled 420,000 refugees, doesn’t have a clear idea and understanding about its own immigrant and refugee history and on top of this has a party (PS) that is openly hostile to them?

The answer to that question lies in our own collective deconstructed memory and our low national self-esteem.

Haven’t studies showed that people with low self-esteem are more prone to prejudice?

Elo also claimed on the program that the PS is a party that supports “healthy” nationalism.

Is there such a thing in a party like the PS that flirts with far-right ideology and nativist nationalism? Certainly Elo is white so he can claim anything he wants to but I suspect that many migrants and minorities will disagree with his statement.

Rosenberg said that the seeds of fascism are planted in a party like the PS, which singles out others from being treated equally and with dignity in this country.

Migrant Tales has said it many times: Parties like the PS are not only a menace to this country but especially to migrants an minorities.

Alberto Coronel sums up well what is happening to us in Finland today with parties like the PS with the quote below. In this same questionable group we can place the National Coalition Party, Christian Democrats, Center Party and Social Democrats.

In plain English the quote by Chris Rock means in our context that if the PS could, they would disenfranchise as much as possible migrants, minorities and Finns who don’t see the world in the same way as them.

Why?

Because that’s their political agenda.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen is a good example of white Finnish privilege. Here’s an MP that has issues with alcohol, racism and now dates teenagers as well as allegedly takes minors to bars. He has sent on his work phone pictures of his phallus and Image magazine claims in its latest issue that the PS MP drove 306 km/hour with his motorcycle. Hakkarainen denies this.

Let’s not forget as well that the PS MP was sentenced to prison for robbery.

After all these questionable “merits,” PS chairman Timo Soini said recently that he’s happy that Hakkarainen will be running for a second term in office.

Definition #11

Imagine for a second if a visible minority, migrant or, god forbid a Muslim would do only half of the things that Hakkarainen did. Even if that person would do only a quarter of the things that the PS MP has done and is doing, that person would be lynched alive on social media forums and by the print media.

The reason why Hakkarainen can get off the hook for all the things he’s done is because he’s white and a PS MP.

Instead of seeing him as a person squandering tax payers money, some see him as a hero.

Moreover, the PS sees Hakkarinen as an “authority” on migration. An authority? With that type of poor judgement, and not suggesting that the two are alike, we could argue that Heinrich Himmler was an “authority” on Jews, the Roma and all the enemies of the Nazi regime.

If you are white and have issues, join the PS. It’s a good party to hide your problems.

See also:

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Who spreads hatred in Finland: YLE or the PS?

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Attempting to gain the maximum political mileage from the act of vandalism against the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* office in Helsinki on Thursday, party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, is pointing the finger at the “green-left alliance” (a favorite catchword that the party uses to describe its enemies) and YLE for comparing it to the anti-immigration far-right Sweden Democrats.

Another ludicrous claim made by the party at the same press conference Friday is that the PS has sacked all of its racists and fascists.

Matti Putkonen, who made the claim, hasn’t apparently heard of Harri Tauriainen, a city of Kemi councilman, who used to have “white power” emblems on his Facebook page and who said: “…it’s odd that we can’t put in line in Finland this colored human group of trash. Just put a stamp on their ass and deport them for good from Finland.”

PS councilman Harri Tauriainen’s Facebook page. He will be running for MP in the April.

Putkonen hasn’t heard as well of Suomen Sisu, a far-right association whose chairman is PS MP Olli Immonen.

Suomen Sisi believes, among other fascist ideas, in “racial hygiene” and that white Finns shouldn’t marry foreigners.

Putkonen and the party appear to have conveniently forgotten about how its third vice president MP Juho Eerola is attracted to Benito Mussolini’s fascism.

There are many cases that clearly prove that the PS is rife with racists and fascists.

Gathering by these sound bites by Slunga-Poutsalo and Putkonen, it’s clear that there is manifest unease in the party. After getting 39 MPs elected in the 2011 parliamentary elections and becoming Finland’s third-largest party like the Sweden Democrats today in the Riksdagen (Swedish parliament), it’s clear that they won’t match that historic victory in 2015.

In the last presidential, municipal and EU elections, the PS has lagged far behind their best result so far.

We don’t hide the fact at Migrant Tales that the PS are for the above and many other reasons a menace to Finland and especially to migrants and minorities. We won’t vandalize their offices but we’ll fight them at the ballot boxes in April to send them back to the minor political leagues after the April 2015 elections.

Four years of the PS in the opposition has not only polarized our society, it has undermined our democratic institutions with its hostility towards migrants and minorities.

Read full story here.

And here’s what we should be asking in light of what happened and what the PS wants us to believe: Who spreads more hatred in Finland – YLE or the PS?

Slunga-Poutsalo could ask the Somali and Muslim community, which have been a near-constant target of the party, what they think about much of the anti-immigration hostility against them. How has the spread of such hatred made their lives easier in Finland? Has it helped migrants in general to integrate and become equal members of this society?

The PS party secretary should ask as well how their intolerance has rubbed off on others like the National Coalition Party, whose MP, Pia Kauma, has spread outright lies about migrants buying new baby carriages with social aid.

Why does the PS continue to attack migrants and minorities? Why does the party continue to support Hommaforum, a racist website that is like a peep show where anonymous racists can see hate comments instead of naked women?

At the same time, Slunga-Poutsalo could ask Finland the same question: How have MPs like Teuvo Hakkarainen, Jussi Halla-aho, Olli Immonen, Juho Eerola, former PS MP James Hirvisaari and many, many others reinforced our Nordic way of life by promoting respect and social equality to everyone?

Slunga-Poutsalo could take a long look at the mirror herself and ask about the Nuiva Manifesto, which she signed. If the anti-immigration manifesto ever came into force, it would bolster racism and white privilege to new heights.

While acts of vandalism against a party should be condemned, so should the violence and hostility of parties like the PS against migrants and minorities.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

PS claims it has sacked all of its racists and fascists from the party (sic!)

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Matti Putkonen said at a press conference Friday that comparing the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats was spreading hatred against the party. He went as far as to suggest that the attack against its office in Helsinki had something to do with such stories, reports tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.

Putkonen, who was convicted for rape about 23 years ago, lost his temper when HBL journalist Susanna Ginman questioned his claim that all the racists and fascists had been sacked from the party.

Ginman asked why PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation, wasn’t sacked from the party.

Putkonen snapped back and asked if she considered Halla-aho a racist.

The journalist answered in the affirmative.

Read full story here.

If Migrant Tales would have been present at the press conference, we’d respond in the same way as the HBL journalist did.

We don’t know what kind of a person Halla-aho is but if we check what he’s written, it’s clear that they are rife with racism.

I’d ask Putkonen as well about Suomen Sisu, a far-right association, about MP Juho Eerola, who admitted being attracted to Benito Mussolini’s fascism.

The chairman of Suomen Sisu, Olli Immonen, is a PS MP.

One of the reasons why the PS has been riddled by so many scandals is because too many of its members are racists and fascists.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Will the Sweden Democrat victory give a boost to the PS in Finland?

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Migrant Tales

The Swedish election result not only showed a shift and set for a minority-left government, but historic gains made by the far-right Sweden Democrats. Conservative Moderat Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who conceded defeat late Sunday, said he will hand in his resignation Monday after eight years in power.

Just like the anti-immigration Peerussuomalaiset (PS)* in 2011, the Sweden Democrats scored their best election victory to date by almost doubling their support to 12.9% (+29 MPs to 49MPs) from 5.7% (20 MPs) in 2010 in the 349-seat Riksdagen (parliament).

Like the PS, they too are today the third-largest party in parliament after the Social Democrats and Moderate Party.

The interesting question to ask is if the good showing of the Sweden Democrats will give a boost to the PS in next year’s elections.

An important matter to keep in mind when looking at far-right, populist and anti-immigration parties is that they are a reaction not a solution to our ever-growing cultural diversity.

Seats gained by different parties in the Swedish parliamentary elections. From left to right: Left Party (V), Social Democrats (S), Greens (MP), Sweden Democrats (SD), Center Party (C), Liberal Party (FP), Christian Democrats (KD) and Moderate Party (M).

Sweden’s new prime minister is Social Democrat Stefan Löfven faces a daunting task in forming the country’s next government.

“I’ll talk to other parties,” he was quoted as saying on The Local. “My hand is outstretched. I’ll talk to the Greens, but also to other parties.”

A coalition comprising of the Social Democrats, Left Party and the Greens only adds up to 43.8%, while a center-right coalition totals 39.3%. This means theoretically that the far-right anti-immigration party holds the balance of power.

“We’re the absolute kingmaker now,” said Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson. “[You] can’t ignore us the way they have ignored us over the past four years.”

Read full story here.

Sweden’s incoming Prime Minister Löfven said he would continue to shun the far-right party as have done all mainstream parties.

Whether the policy of excluding the Sweden Democrats has worked or not remains to be seen. Mainstream parties in Finland have taken a different approach and even invited the PS to form part of government after the elections four years ago.

Even if the Sweden Democrats are heading north and the PS are heading south, it’s clear that a lot more has to be done to challenge right-wing populist anti-immigration sentiment. More leadership is needed especially from migrant and multicultural Swedes and Finns.

Did outgoing Prime Minister Reinfeldt’s pro-immigration statements and stance help the Sweden Democrats isn’t the point. The issue is that politicians must show leadership during difficult times and not look for scapegoats.

Far-right anti-immigration sentiment has also grown in Norway and Denmark, where xenophobic parties did well in recent elections.

Parties like the National Coalition Party and Social Democrats have done a dismal job in challenging the rhetoric of parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS).* The most recent baby carriage scandal by conservative MP Pia Kauma is a clear example how some mainstream politicians are flirting with xenophobia.

What do we have in Finland to show after almost four years of the PS in the opposition? Polarization of society, political scandals, strengthening of urban myths and racism – in sum, a country that appears to have lost its way.

How will the Swedish elections impact Finland’s elections in April?

Certainly it won’t hurt them.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Finnish anti-immigration politicians and parties spread on purpose lies to hide the truth and their culpability

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Ever wonder why the Finnish media and politicians continue to spread lies about migrants and minorities like we’re lazy, stupid, criminals, rapists and a burden on society? OK, not all of them lie on purpose but too many remain silent and allow these types of urban tales to slip past them in silent approval.

Say for example a recent urban tale by a MP from Espoo that I don’t want to mention who claims that migrants get preferential treatment from social-service officials.

Poverty and social exclusion are realities that the migrant and minority community face in Finland.

What about a party* that I don’t want to mention because they base their popularity on anti-immigration rhetoric? Members of this party have gone as far as to claim that certain national groups have it in their genes to live off welfare, rob and rape.

Why do many, like the media, politicians and some of the public believe these fairy tales about migrants and minorities?

What would happen if the following was the truth:

The majority of migrants (about 60%) live in poverty;
Unemployment among migrants is on average two to three times higher than the national average;
Migrant youths have a greater chance of being marginalized than white Finns;
Migrants make 25% less money than Finns on average;
Migrants get less social welfare than Finns because they are usually employed in low-skilled and low-paying jobs.

The above facts are a ticking time bomb thanks to our indifference and because some politicians and political parties would care less about migrants and minorities in this country.

Instead of addressing and challenging poverty and social exclusion, it’s clear why some don’t want you to admit the truth.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

National Coalition Party and Perussuomalaiset lead anti-immigration drive in Finland

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Migrant Tales

With parliamentary elections nearing in April, topping the anti-immigration rhetoric list are two parties with representatives in parliament: National Coalition Party and who else but the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*.

We’ve been reading almost daily about National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma’s crusade against migrant women with baby carriages. The PS are another hostile party to migrants that will feed migrants to the dogs in order to get your vote in April.

While the PS wants to fool voters into believing that their rhetoric against migrants and minorities has something to do with patriotism and defending white Finnish rights, nothing could be further from the truth.

Migrant Tales has never been fooled by this type of chicanery and neither should you.

If there are warning red light over Finland, it’s to warn us of the PS, a party that has ties with extremist groups like Suomen Sisu.

Since the PS has made so many outrageous statements in the past about migrants, minorities and development aid, let’s look at the two most recent ones by MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala and MP Juho Eerola.

If Saarakkala had his way, he’d get rid of dual citizenship and take away a person’s citizenship if he were sentenced for a serious crime like terrorism. Eerola, on the other hand, the MP that admitted liking fascism and Benito Mussolini’s economic policies, wants to scrap the right of migrants to use paid interpreters.

What’s wrong with these two proposals? For one they reveal that Saarakkala and Eerola, both lawmakers, are in the dark about our constitution.

One of the most important rights in our constitution is that everyone, irrespective if the person is a Finn or migrant, has the right to be treated equally before the law.

Here’s a question to Eerola: If you are going to take away the right to use a paid interpreter from migrants, how would that affect minorities such as the Sami, Roma and mutes?

These types of statements made by MPs just to get votes in next year’s election reveal the true face of the PS. It shows a party that is lost but led by the headlights of its opportunism and ignorance. The PS would end up feeding our laws and values to the dogs if it ever got power.

Should migrants, expats and minorities fear the PS? Not at all. We should challenge them and do everything possible to send them them back to where they came from: to the one-digit political minor league.

Let’s hope that this will happen sooner than later.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Finland’s parliamentary elections of April 2015 have begun

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Even if parliamentary elections will take place on April 19, 2015, it’s clear that they’ve begun. Rumbles can be already heard from political parties such as the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Muutos 2011 and the National Coalition Party, which are vying for media attention and voters. Who are they targeting? Who else but migrants and minorities.

National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma is the one that claimed on Friday that migrant women were buying new baby carriages with social aid and that migrants were getting more welfare than Finns.

Kauma’s claims, which were based on hearsay, were disproven. Even so, the conservative MP continues to be in the media spotlight.

Any serious student of racism would ask the following question: Why does MP Kauma, who bases her claim on gossip and openly victimizes migrants, controls the narrative on migrants? Why doesn’t Pekka Myrskylä’s blog, which showed that the majority of migrants live in poverty in Finland, wasn’t even mentioned by the Finnish media?

Why in the last parliamentary elections did the media believe the narrative of the PS and politicians like Jussi Halla-aho and others even if it’s clear today that they were spreading lies about migrants?

The answer is in my opinion clear: The Finnish media isn’t only white but too many reporters have a challenging time thinking outside their ethnic box.

Migrants and minorities in this country have memory and we won’t forget. In the meantime as new lies are stacked over old ones by opportunistic politicians, the credibility of our institutions will be undermined. Who would believe in the police if the police are suspicious of you?

What is surprising in the Kauma affair is that not one migrant – except for mothers with baby carriages – were asked what they thought about the MP’s false claims.

On Monday’s A-Studio, a YLE host asked Kauma if she’d apologize for what she said. Social Democrat chairman Antti Rinne had said over the weekend that it’s clear that migrants don’t get more social aid than Finns and therefore talk about baby carriages should end and Kauma should apologize.

The MP said she wouldn’t apologize for bringing up a topic that had gotten the attention of white Finns.

Kauma did, however, apologize to those migrant mothers with baby carriages who have been harassed by Finns because of what she said.

Please read the last sentence again and ask:

Why did she make such claims in the first place if they aren’t true?

Politicians like Kauma and Timo Soini will find themselves in good company with MP James Hirvisaari of Muutos 2011, a xenophobic far-right party that believes racist sound bites to the media will help them get voters.

They are right but in the wrong party because there’s little media interest in Muutos 2011.

Hirvisaari, who got the boot from the PS after he posted a picture on social media of a friend making a Nazi salute in parliament, is a PS creation. Without the PS, Hirvisaari would have never got elected.

Here MP James Hirvisaari shows his Finnish machoism and narcism with his anti-immigration rhetoric, where he promises to get immigration under control. Social media has created many Frankensteins like Hirvisaari.

It’s highly likely that Hirvisaari will lose his seat in April.

We at Migrant Tales hope that he gets voted out of parliament.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.

Kokoomus MP still points accusing finger at migrant women for buying new baby carriages

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Even if parliamentary elections are in April, some politicians, like National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP and Espoo city councilwoman Pia Kauma, are openly attacking migrants. She’s the conservative politician who stated on Friday that migrants shouldn’t buy new baby carriages with welfare money.

Kauma got an opportunity on Monday to present her case on YLE’s A-Studio.

The interview, in my opinion, exposed her greed and political opportunism. How many times have anti-immigration politicians in the James Hirvisaari league tried to capitalize on the urban tale that migrants get more social welfare than white Finns.

“What irritates ethnic Finns is that they aren’t treated equally in this country,” said MP Kauma.

Not treated equally?! I wonder if she’s ever read Pekka Myrskylä’s blog, which shows conclusively that the majority of migrants in Finland live in poverty and get less social welfare than white Finns.

Marja-Leena Remes, a social worker at Espoo who was a gust on the same program as Kauma, stated that she didn’t have any evidence that migrants get more social welfare than white Finns. According to her, the city of Espoo only gives 200 euros in assistance to buy baby carriages.

Good luck if you’re going to buy a new baby carriage with that sum of money.

It’s clear from the A-Studio interview that Kauma bases her claim on he-said-she-said rumor.

Sakari Timonen is one of the best anti-racism bloggers in Finland. He states on a recent blog headlined Crusade against baby carriages that of the city of Espoo’s annual budget of 1.573 billion euros, only 3% (48.146 million) of this sum is allocated for social assistance, which could include the 200 euros for buying baby carriages.

See A-Studio interview (in Finnish) here.

Why then is Kauma making such a big deal about this matter if it’s only a storm in a tea cup?

Because she’s craving for media attention and because she knows that by fueling the envy of white Finns against migrants and minorities she’ll get media attention and supporters.

This is the same prank that anti-immigration politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Jussi Halla-aho, Hirvisaari, Olli Immonen, Juho Eerola and others used to get elected in 2011.

Shame on the National Coalition Party and Kauma.

Expect more hostility from more politicians like her as parliamentary elections near in April.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party 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.