After one wing of the Social Democratic Party notched closer to the anti-immigration True Finns, one should quietly ask what’s all the fuss about. SDP MP Eero Heinäluoma stated in an interview in Swedish daily HBL that Finland should not encourage labor immigrants because there are 300,000 unemployed. Fair enough, then he goes on and blames immigrants for spreading racism because “they will take Finnish jobs.”
Tag: Social Democratic Party
Racism in Finland and elsewhere
Every society has its racists but the question is where we draw the line. For a country like Finland, the problem of drawing a clear line hinges on that there are so few immigrant and ethnic groups that moved to this country from the second half of last century.
A-Talk: What is wrong with the Social Democrats?
At least for me, the debate on immigration on A-Talk on Thursday was a disappointment. The only sensible persons on the show were Anni Sinnemäki of the Greens and Jyrki Katainen of Kokoomus. The two opposition leaders, Jutta Urpilainen of the Social Democrats (SDP) and Timo Soini of the True Finns were a disappointment filling the airways with hollow catchwords that reeked of populism, protectionism and heavy doses of obnoxious nationalism.
Finnish Social Democrats explain controversial immigration stance
Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP) chairperson Jutta Urpilainen explained (in Finnish) in an MTV3 blog what she meant by stating immigrants must abide by Finnish laws (“maassa maan tavalla” polcy).