The Trump administration is one of the best examples of the violent knee-jerk reaction of how white privilege reacts when threatened. As Nazi Germany proved, government’s will go to any lengths to defend their privileges, even if it is a fabricated threat.
No country is immune to such a situation. The rise of far-right parties in Europe is an example of the latter. All of them have one factor in common: outsiders are threatening to take away our privileges.
Fortunately, Finland is bucking the trend for now. The anti-immigration and far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which is in government, has seen its poll numbers nosedive, as a recent Helsingin Sanomat opinion poll showed.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, the last time the PS’ share of the vote was at the 10% level was in January 2019, when it was 9.7%. It is today a far cry from its peak of 22.8% in January 2020.
The PS’ lack of support is linked to white privilege, which the party is attacking through its austerity measures that target vulnerable groups like single mothers and the unemployed.
Even so, we should never underestimate the threat of white privilege.
One of the matters that the PS has surprised us is the ferocity and intensity of its austerity measures. People are experiencing hunger, and we are seeing new poverty levels for children thanks to PS and its partner, the National Coalition Party (NCP).
The new polls may not only indicate a death knell to the PS and the neoconservative ideology of the NCP, it may also usher in a new political era that will be more just and inclusive.
If it doesn’t lead to the latter, it will spell disaster and strife for the years to come.
