Watching the ongoing government negotiations to give birth to Finland’s most right-wing and anti-immigration government can raise one’s blood pressure. The sticky issue National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) prime minister-designate, Petteri Orpo, hopes to resolve the sticky issue of migration and environmental policy. In the face of a chronic labor shortage due to Finland’s graying population,…
Tag: Petteri Orpo
Riikka Purra threatens to walk out of government talks: The PS will not participate if migration policy isn’t tightened significantly
Watching the ongoing negotiations between the National Coalition Party, Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Swedish People’s Party, and Christian Democrats to form Finland’s most right-wing and anti-immigration government is concerning. For one, PS head Riikka Purra’s usual vitriolic anti-immigration rhetoric reminds me of a Brexit minime bully. Purra warned on Thursday that without “migration policy tightened significantly,” they…
Thank you, Sanna Marin for your words of encouragement
There are many surprising factors about Finland’s parliamentary election result in April. One of these is how a progressive government with an internationally acclaimed politician, Sanna Marin, who became the world’s youngest prime minister in 2019 at 34, shifted to a possible conservative and radical right government. Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s speech upon receiving an…
Flirting with the PS is like playing with fire that will get you burned
There are two opinions about the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* membership in a future coalition government led by the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus): Let them join so the public will see who they are – a cantankerous and messy jumble of bitter hot air; and others point to giving former President Donald Trump the benefit of…
Finland’s new government: No evil can last 100 years – but it can, possibly, last for four years
Finland’s next government will likely comprise of four parties: National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Swedish People’s Party, and Christian Democrats, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Even if the makeup of the government was pretty clear at the onset, many questions remain. One is Finland’s chronic labor shortage and PS opposition to asylum seekers and labor…
Finland’s next government will be…
Forming a coalition government will be a challenge for Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (Kokoomus). Two options are in the race: Kokoomus (48 seats) + Perussuoalaiset (PS)* (46) + Christian Democrats (5) + Swedish People’s Party (10), with a total of 109 seats. The other option is Kokoomus + Social Democrats (43) + Christian Democrats…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: The right adjective for the Perussuomalaiset should be populist, Eurosceptic, and far-right
It is surprising how the foreign and local media treat the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*differently, even if The Guardian and El País of Madrid refer to the party as far right. Other adjectives are used, like Eurosceptic, nationalistic, and right-wing populist. In Finland, we rarely, if ever, see such descriptions of the PS. Yle News, for example,…
Riikka Purra and the anti-EU PS may be too radical for Finland’s taste
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Riikka Purra, stuck her mouth in her foot at a debate with National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) head Petteri Orpo, when she said that it is still the radical-right party’s long-range aim to leave the EU. “Finnish citizens are not in favor of leaving the EU,” she was quoted as saying in Helsingin…
Kokoomus proves it again: racism coupled with nationalism is a good fix before a parliamentary election
Perussouomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Purra wasn’t the only one overjoyed by the latest Helsingin Sanomat opinion poll, which showed the radical-right party overtaking the Social Democrats to second place after the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus). Behind Purra was Kokoomus chief Petteri Orpo, gleeing. Finns will go to the polls on April 4 to elect 200 MPs. While observers…
Reija Härkönen: Onko Suomi nyt lännessä ja Halla-aho tehnyt parannuksen?
Kun Suomi jätti Nato-hakemuksen, monet riemuitsivat, että Suomi kuuluu vihdoin länteen. Tuollainen riemu oli mielenkiintoista senkin vuoksi, kun edelleen kovasti odotellaan, että Turkin sulho vastaisi myöntävästi kosintaan. Tekeekö liittolaissuhde Turkkiin meistä entistä länsimaalaisempia. Olemmeko nyt lännessä? Perussuomalaisten Jussi Halla-ahoa haastateltiin elokuussa 2019 hänen suhtautumisestaan siihen, että Unkaria on vaadittu palaamaan ruotuun ja tunnustamaan EU:n yhteiset arvot ja…