The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...

political party in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the

Finnish Rural Party The Finnish Rural Party ( fi, Suomen maaseudun puolue, SMP; sv, Finlands landsbygdsparti, FLP) was an agrarian and populist political party in Finland. Starting as a breakaway faction of the Agrarian League in 1959 as the Small Peasants' Party ...

. The party achieved its electoral breakthrough in the

2011 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%. The ...

, when it won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party in the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

. In the 2015 election the party got 17.7% of the votes, making it the parliament's second-largest political party. The party was in opposition for the first 20 years of its existence. In 2015, it joined the coalition government formed by Prime Minister

Juha Sipilä Juha Petri Sipilä (; born 25 April 1961) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2019. A relative newcomer to politics, he has a successful background in business. He was the leader of the Centre Party fr ...

. Following a 2017 split, over half of the party's MPs left the parliamentary group and were subsequently expelled from their party membership. This defector group,

Blue Reform The Finnish Reform Movement ( fi, Korjausliike, korj), is a Finnish conservative political party. It was founded by the 19 MPs who left the Finns Party on 13 June 2017 in protest against Jussi Halla-aho having been elected party leader. The n ...

, continued to support the government coalition, while the Finns Party went into opposition. The party, having been reduced to 17 seats after the split, increased its representation to 39 seats in the

2019 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 14 April 2019. For the first time, no party received more than 20% of the vote. The Centre Party, which had been the largest party following the 2015 elections, dropped to fourth place, losing 18 sea ...

, while Blue Reform failed to win any seats.

History

Finnish Rural Party

The predecessor of the Finns Party was the

(SMP), founded by Agrarian League dissident

Veikko Vennamo Veikko Emil Aleksander Vennamo (originally ''Fennander'') (11 June 1913 – 12 June 1997) was a Finnish politician. In 1959, he founded the Finnish Rural Party (''Suomen Maaseudun Puolue''), which was succeeded by the True Finns in 1995. He had o ...

in 1959. Vennamo ran into serious disagreement with Arvo Korsimo, the Agrarian League's party secretary, and was excluded from the

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...

. As a result, Vennamo immediately started building his own organization and founded the Finnish Rural Party. Vennamo was a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

and became a critic of President

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...

and of political corruption within the "old parties", particularly the Centre Party (the renamed Agrarian League). The Rural Party achieved two major victories in the elections of

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, winning 18 and 17 seats respectively. In the 1970s, Vennamo's personalized leadership style alienated some in the party, which led to a split in the parliamentary group in 1972. After the Rural Party's new rise in 1983 under Vennamo's son Pekka, the party became a partner in two coalition governments. However, the party's support declined steadily in the late-1980s and early-1990s. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, the party won only one seat in the

Finnish parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

and soon filed for bankruptcy.

Founding of the Finns Party and its rise in popularity

In the summer of 1995, following the collapse of the Finnish Rural Party, the decision to found the Finns Party was made by

Timo Soini Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962) is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2019. He was e ...

Raimo Vistbacka Raimo Viljam Vistbacka (born 19 October 1945 in Kauhava) is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament. Vistbacka has a master's degree in law (''varatuomari'') and he was the rural police chief (''nimismies'') in Alajärvi in ...

, Urpo Leppänen and Kari Bärlund. Soini had been the Rural Party's last party secretary and Vistbacka its last chairman and MP. The party collected the five thousand signatures needed for registration and was added to the official party register on 13 October 1995. The first

party congress The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...

was held in November. Vistbacka was elected party chairman and Soini the party secretary. It took some time before the Finns Party gained ground in Finnish elections. At the time of its founding in 1995, the party's sole MP was Vistbacka, who was reelected in the 1999 election. In 2003, the party won three seats: besides Vistbacka, Soini and

Tony Halme Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician ...

were elected. In the 2007, the party gained two further seats for a total of five. In the 2008 municipal election, the Finns Party were most successful in those districts where the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and the Left Alliance lost most.Party analysis – the Finns Party won the day
Statistics Finland In the 2011 election, the Centre Party suffered the largest blow from the Finns Party's success. According to a 2008–2009 study, Finns Party supporters viewed themselves as

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

: on a scale where 1 was extreme left and 10 was extreme right, the average supporter placed themselves at 5.4. According to the same study, the supporters were united by patriotism and social conservatism. A 2011 study indicated that the Finns Party was the most popular party among voters with an annual income of 35,000–50,000

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s, while over a quarter of the party's voters earn over 50,000 per year.
The same study also indicated that the party's voters included a higher percentage of

blue collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and power ...

workers than those of the Social Democrats.

Timo Soini

Timo Soini led the Finns Party for twenty years, from 1997 until 2017. He was first elected to the parliament in 2003. He was the party's candidate in the 2006 presidential election, and was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

in 2009 with the highest personal vote share in the country. He served as an MEP for two years, returning to the Finnish parliament in the 2011 election. Soini was the party's presidential candidate for a second time in the election of 2012.

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017 The Finns Party obtained 39 seats in the 2011 election, making them the third largest party, narrowly behind the

National Coalition Party sv, Samlingspartiet , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Petteri Orpo , leader2_title = Deputy chairs , leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen , merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...

(44) and the Social Democrats (42). Soini received 43,212 personal votes, the highest number of all candidates, leaving behind the Foreign Minister

Alexander Stubb Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (born 1 April 1968) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. He rose to politics as a researcher specialized in the affairs of the European Union and was elected to the European ...

and the Finance Minister

Jyrki Katainen Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously Prime Minister of Finland fr ...

in their

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...

electoral district. The popularity of the party rose from 4.1% to 19.1% in just four years. '' Helsingin Sanomat'' wrote in an editorial that the party and Soini had "rewritten the electoral history books". According to political analyst Jan Sundberg, Soini had the ability to appeal to common people and make complicated things look easy. The election result was also referred to as "shocking" and "exceptional". After the election, the National Coalition Party (NCP) began negotiations aiming to form a cabinet between the NCP, the Social Democrats, and the Finns Party. However, when it became clear that the NCP and the Social Democrats would continue to support EU bailouts, which the Finns Party vehemently opposed during the electoral campaign, the party voluntarily broke from the negotiations to become the leading opposition party. Soini said that the party would not compromise its core principles just to enter the government. According to an opinion poll, most of the party's supporters accepted this decision. The Finns Party's popularity initially continued to rise after the 2011 election: in one opinion poll from June 2011 gave the party a record popularity of 23 percent. The party's membership rose to over 8,000 members by 2013 (up from circa 5,500 in 2011 and circa 1,000 in 2005). Membership in the party's

youth organisation The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

rose as well, going from 800 before the 2011 election to over 2,200 in 2013. The party nominated Soini as its candidate for the 2012 presidential election; Soini finished fourth with 9.4 percent. Soini interpreted the result by saying that half of the party's voters wanted him for president, while the other half wanted to him to remain as party chairman. In municipal elections later in 2012, the party got 12.3 percent of votes and 1,195 seats in the municipal councils, up more than 750 from the previous municipal election. However, this result saw the votes for the party shrink significantly from the 2011 parliamentary election result. The party got 12.9 percent of votes in the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

and increased its number of MEPs to two. In the 2015 election, the Finns Party got 17.7% of the votes and 38 seats. This meant that they were the third largest party by votes but the second largest party by seats. The Finns Party subsequently entered into a coalition government with the Centre Party and the NCP, led by Prime Minister

. The party's participation in the

Sipilä Cabinet The cabinet of Juha Sipilä was the 74th government of Finland, from 2015 to 2019. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2015 and formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. From June 2017, the cabinet consis ...

marked a softening of its Eurosceptic positions. On 22 June 2016, Finns Party MP Maria Tolppanen joined the Social Democrats, after which the Finns Party had 37 seats in the parliament. In March 2017, Soini announced that he would step down as party chairman in the next party congress in June.Soini announces he will not continue at Finns Party helm
Yle News on 5 March 2017. Retrieved on 12 March 2017.

2017 leadership election and splits

In June 2017,

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017Sampo Terho In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucop ...

faced off in the

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

, in which Halla-aho received 949 votes against Terho's 646 votes and thus succeeded Soini as party chairman. Sipilä and Finance Minister

Petteri Orpo Antti Petteri Orpo (born 3 November 1969) is a Finnish politician serving as the leader of the National Coalition Party since 2016. He has previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2017 to 2019, Minister of Finance from 2016 to 2 ...

soon announced that they would not continue their coalition with the Finns Party if it was led by Halla-aho. Subsequently, twenty Finns Party MPs, including Soini and Terho, defected to form a new parliamentary group under the name New Alternative, later renamed into

. As all cabinet ministers were among the defectors, the Blue Reform made an agreement with Sipilä to stay in the government. Following the split, MPs

Veera Ruoho Veera Marita Ruoho (née Liukkonen; born 4 August 1969 in Hirvensalmi) is a Finnish politician and an Olympic Taekwondo practitioner. She participated in the Women's Heavyweight competition in Taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Au ...

and Arja Juvonen left the Finns Party parliamentary group to continue as

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

s, after which the party's seats were reduced to fifteen. All of the defecting MPs were subsequently expelled from the Finns Party. In the following weeks, MPs Ritva Elomaa and Arja Juvonen regretted their decision and re-joined the party, raising the amount of MPs to seventeen. Ps-vaalikoju2018

The party nominated MP

Laura Huhtasaari Laura Huhtasaari (born 30 March 1979) is a Finnish politician, businesswoman and teacher. As a member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland from April 2015 to July 2019. She was the Finns Party candidate f ...

as its candidate for the 2018 presidential election. In the election, Huhtasaari placed third with 6.9 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president Sauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes. At the

the Finns Party finished in second place and increased its number of MPs to 39 (with its strongest result being in

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region ...

) while the breakaway

party lost all of its seats. On June 21, 2021, Jussi Halla-aho announced that he will retire from his position as a party leader in August 2021. He was succeeded by MP

Riikka Purra Riikka Purra (born 13 June 1977) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party for the Uusimaa constituency. In August 2021, she was elected the new leader of the party after Jussi Halla-aho. Polit ...

on August 14. Since 2020, further splits have emerged within the party, forming the

Power Belongs to the People Power Belongs to the People ( fi, Valta kuuluu kansalle; , sv, Makten tillhör folket) formerly known as Parliamentary Group Ano Turtiainen (AT), is a political party in Finland. Ano Turtiainen is its group leader and only member of parliament. T ...

and

Blue-and-Black Movement The Blue-and-Black Movement ( fi, Sinimusta Liike, SML, sv, Blåsvarta Rörelsen) is a neo-fascist party in Finland. The party's goal is an independent, vibrant and sovereign Finland, and keeping it as the homeland of Finns. The party was bor ...

In the European Parliament

When the Finns Party first gained representation in the European Parliament in 2009, it became a founding member of the

Europe of Freedom and Democracy Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) was a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. The group was formed following the 2009 European parliamentary election, mostly composed of elements of the Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) and ...

Group (EFD) in the Parliament. After the 2014 election, however, the party chose to leave the EFD to join the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR). Commenting on the party's choice of group, party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo said in 2014 that joining a right-wing parliamentary group would not change the party's characteristic of being a "centre-left workers' party". After the 2019 election the party joined the

Identity and Democracy Identity and Democracy (french: link=no, Identité et démocratie, ID) is a right-wing to far-right political group of the European Parliament, launched on 13 June 2019 for the Ninth European Parliament term. It is composed of nationalist, ri ...

Group.

Ideology

Ideologically, the Finns Party has been described as right-wing and far-right. It is a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

and national-conservative party that opposes immigration, while on foreign stances they are eurosceptic. The party combines left-wing economic policies and

economic nationalism Economic nationalism, also called economic patriotism and economic populism, is an ideology that favors state interventionism over other market mechanisms, with policies such as domestic control of the economy, labor, and capital formation, incl ...

with socially conservative values, and

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

. Several researchers have described the party as fiscally centre-left, socially conservative, * * * * a "centre-based populist party" or the "most left-wing of the non-socialist parties", whereas other scholars have described them as radically

. In the parliament seating order, the party was seated in the centre of the plenary until 2019 when they were moved to the right of the plenary despite their opposition to the move.Eduskunta äänesti istumajärjestyksestä – Perussuomalaiset siirretään vasten tahtoaan istuntosalin oikeaan laitaan
Yle.fi, 7 May 2019, accessed 7 May 2019. The party's supporters have described themselves as centrists. The party has drawn people from left-wing parties but central aspects of their manifesto have gained support from right-wing voters as well. The Finns Party has been compared by international media to the other Nordic populist parties and other similar nationalist and right-wing

movements in Europe, whilst noting its strong support for the Finnish

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...

.Esa Vares & Erkka Railo: Oikeistopopulismin monet kasvot – perussuomalaisuus poliittisen historian ja mediatutkimuksen näkökulmasta, 2011
(p 11, 38, 42, 52)

Policies and platform

In evaluating the Finns Party's 70-page programme for the 2011 election Mikko Lahtinen, political scientist in the

University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) ( fi, Tampereen yliopisto (Tay), ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019. The university offered u ...

, and Markku Hyrkkänen, historian of ideas in the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

, note that nationalism is a theme consistently repeated throughout the programme. According to them the party presents populism as a noble ideology, which seeks to empower the people. Lahtinen describes the rhetoric used in the program as a refreshing change to the politically correct "jargon" of mainstream media, and believes that the Finns Party may have succeeded in gaining supporters from the traditional left-wing parties by presenting a more attractive form of criticism of

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

than those parties. Ville Pernaa, political scientist, described the party's 2015 electoral program by saying that the Finns Party combines elements of both right-wing and left-wing politics along with populist rhetoric. Policies of the Finns Party in 2011 include the following:

Fiscal policies

* Progressive taxation and the welfare state The Finns Party has proposed more progressivity to taxes to avoid the establishment of flat taxation. The party has called for the raising of the

capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Not all countries impose a c ...

and the re-institution of the

wealth tax A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...

. According to the party, the willingness to pay taxes is best guaranteed by a society unified by correct social policies – the electoral program warns against individualist policies, which weaken the solidarity among citizens. "The willingness to pay taxes is guaranteed by having a unified people", the program reads (p. 46). Some observers have compared the Finns Party's fiscal policies to the old national Social Democratic taxation policy, which has given the left-wing brand to the Finns Party. During the electoral campaign in 2011 Soini stated that he preferred the

over the center-right

as a possible coalition partner in a future cabinet. Soini has stated that the Finns Party is a "workers' party without socialism". A researcher for the opinion polling company ''Taloustutkimus'' agreed, describing the Finns Party as a "non-socialist workers' party". * State support for rural regions, including support for agriculture The Finns Party's rural policy program suggests state subsidies to relieve the effect of structural changes on the rural areas. This policy is shared by the Centre Party in Finland and originates from the agrarian and rural policies of both parties. * Increased state investment in infrastructure and industry The Finns Party favours state investments in infrastructure and industry as well. A tendency towards favouring old industrial policies have led some political analysts to label the Finns Party as a center-left party.

Energy policies

* Aspiration to energy self-reliance and support for nuclear energy * Pro-industry environmental policy – opposition to green tax reform and to taxpayers' involvement in emission trading funds * The Party of the Finns strongly supports the

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

industry, which produces massive amounts of

greenhouse gases A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...

, having even proposed exempting this production from any tax. The party generally scores best in municipalities whose economies are tied to this industry. The party has strongly denounced the

Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and ...

, signed in December 2015, saying it was "catastrophic" for the economy, and demanded that the private sector and taxpayers be spared its "disastrous economic consequences".

Cultural policies

* Teaching "healthy national pride" in schools, because the unity of citizens is the basis of society. * Removal of the obligatory character of the second official language (Swedish in Finnish-language schools and vice versa) in curriculums on all levels of education, freeing up time for the learning of other foreign languages such as English, German, French, Spanish and Russian (especially in the eastern part of the country). Obviously allowance regarding the use of the Swedish language and its teaching will have to be made for those communes where Swedish-speaking populations are in the majority or a large percentage of the population – Swedish is one of Finland's national languages. * Support for cultural activities that "promote Finnish identity" The cultural program of the Finns Party, which proposed subsidizing traditional art over postmodernist art, prompted criticism from outside the party and generated debate within the party as well. Some critics of the policy called it overtly populist or said that the state should not interfere with the content of art. A poll commissioned by '' Helsingin Sanomat'' at the time of the controversy found that a majority, 51 percent, of Finns agreed with the party's stance on ending subsidies for postmodern art.

Social policies

* Rejection of

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

, opposition to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

same-sex adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child (stepchild adoption). Joint adoption by same-sex coup ...

and

in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...

given to

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

and single women.

Immigration policies

Regarding immigration policy the 2011 manifesto emphasises: * Limiting humanitarian immigration strictly to refugee quotas (which should be adapted to correspond with the economic situation), * Limiting family unification to proven direct relatives only, and requiring means of subsistence from the immigrant, * Deporting those immigrants guilty of serious or recurrent crimes or those that does not meet the Immigration laws, * Welcoming work-based immigration, provided the immigrants pay taxes and abide by Finnish labour laws, * Granting Finnish nationality after five years' residence in Finland, provided the immigrant masters Finnish, has no criminal record, and has means of subsistence The party also requires that immigrants accept Finnish cultural norms. The only written declaration to the European Parliament made by a True Finn MEP also concerns immigration matters. The party underlines the role of national sovereignty in immigration issues: In 2015 the party's immigration programme included demands like: * Lowering the refugee quota * Opposition to the planned burden-sharing mechanisms of the Common European Asylum Policy * Opposition to using public funds to advance

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

* Tightening the conditions of family unification by migrants * Allowing the immigration of workers from outside the EU and EEA countries only if they are found to be necessary in a given field in a means test by the Finnish Labour Office * Making sure that migrants living on welfare benefits are not concentrated in the same areas * Outlawing

begging Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public pla ...

in public places * Ending positive discrimination In their 2019 election manifesto the party called for a prohibition on wearing the

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

and the niqab in public. Timo Soini signed a pan-European charter against racism in 1998. However, in 2009, before the European Parliament election, Soini refused to sign an anti-racism appeal, saying that the appeal was an attempt to influence the party's choice of candidates (the appeal was drawn up by another political party). All other Finnish parties signed this appeal against racism. In May 2011, following controversies surrounding the remarks of the Finns Party's MP

Teuvo Hakkarainen Teuvo Hakkarainen (born 12 April 1960, in Viitasaari) is a Finnish politician and member of the European Parliament, representing the Finns Party. Before being elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election, he had been a member of the ...

, the Finns Party's parliamentary group issued a statement condemning all racism and discrimination, including affirmative action. The party invited other parties to sign the statement as well, but no other party did so. In December 2011, an opinion poll revealed 51% of Finns Party voters agreed with the statement, ''"Joihinkin rotuihin kuuluvat ihmiset eivät kerta kaikkiaan sovi asumaan moderniin yhteiskuntaan;"'' ''"People of certain races are absolutely, categorically unable to live within (fit into) a modern society."''

Foreign and defence policies

The party also does: * Opposition to the integration of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and opposition to Finnish

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

membership. * Reductions in foreign aid

has been an outspoken critic of both the EU and NATO, but has stated that if a choice had to be made, NATO is a lesser evil than the EU. The Finns Party favors non-alliance or neutrality, as international activities abroad for the Defence Forces would undermine the defence budget's funds for sustaining a large conscript army of war-time personnel (which is 350,000) to guarantee the defence of all of Finland. When the Finnish Parliament voted to ratify the

Ottawa Treaty The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...

, banning anti-personnel mines, in November 2011, the Finns Party was the only party unified in opposing the treaty. The party believes in national sovereignty: Shortly after the leadership election of

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017Laura Huhtasaari Laura Huhtasaari (born 30 March 1979) is a Finnish politician, businesswoman and teacher. As a member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland from April 2015 to July 2019. She was the Finns Party candidate f ...

stated that she would support leaving the EU should she win the 2018 Finnish presidential election citing the growth of the Union's power at the expense of the member states. Other party members have supported the idea of Finland withdrawing from both the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

and the

. In its latest platform, the Finns Party states that it supports a "European policy" based on appreciation for Western and Christian shaped values. The party argues that Finland is needed in the European Parliament to defend Finnish interests in the short-term, but states the "long-term strategic goal" is to take gradual steps to withdraw Finland from the European Union and proposes introducing a parallel currency within Finland to initiate phasing out Finnish membership of the

. Initially, the party was opposed to Finnish admission into

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in its 2011 program, however following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

the party signaled a change to this policy and stated it was willing to back NATO membership.

Judicial policies

During the 2011 election the party's judicial programme included: * Tougher punishments for violent crime * More resources for police and prosecutors * Opposition to any incorporation of Sharia law into judicial practices

Election results

ImageSize = width:300 height:240 PlotArea = width:200 height:160 left:50 bottom:60 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:20 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0 Colors= id:SB value:rgb(1,0.835,0) legend:Sea_Battles PlotData= bar:% color:SB width:22 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1999 from:start till:0.09 text:1.0 bar:2003 from:start till:1.57 text:1.6 bar:2007 from:start till:4.88 text:4.05 bar:2011 from:start till:19.05 text:19.05 bar:2015 from:start till:17.65 text:17.65 bar:2019 from:start till:17.5 text:17.48

Parliamentary elections

Presidential elections

European Parliament elections

Municipal elections

Leadership

Chairmanship and party secretaries

The party chairmanship is divided between four persons, elected at party congress biannually. Riikka Purra is the party's chair. The first deputy chair is Leena Meri, the second deputy chair is Mauri Peltokangas and the third deputy chair is Sebastian Tynkkynen. Raimo Vistbacka chaired the Finns Party from 1995 to 1997. The party secretary Timo Soini succeeded Vistbacka as chairman in 1997. Rolf Sormo followed Timo Soini as party secretary and served from 1997 to 1999. The third party secretary, Hannu Purho, served for eight years, from 1999 to 2007. After him, Timo Soini's parliamentary assistant, Ossi Sandvik, was elected party secretary in 2007. He was succeeded by Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, who was elected as party secretary in 2013. She was succeeded by Simo Grönroos in 2019, who was in turn succeeded by Arto Luukkanen.

Board

The board of the Finns Party has 13 members: the party chairman, the three deputy chairs, the party secretary, chair of the parliamentary group and seven other members.

Foundations

The foundation ''Perussuomalaisten tukisäätiö'' ("The Finns Party support fund") was founded in 1990. It used the name ''SMP:n tukisäätiö'' until 2006. The fund borrowed 1.7 million euros from the party in 2012 to buy a 450 m² commercial property in downtown Helsinki on Yrjönkatu for use as the Party's new headquarters. The Party rented these premises from the fund. Following the split of 2017, this foundation was left in the control the defector group, Blue Reform. Another foundation, ''Suomen Perusta'' ("The Foundation of Finland"), was set up in 2012. Its role is to function as a think tank affiliated with the party.

Elected representatives and leaders

Current Members of the Finnish Parliament

Ville Tavio Ville Tapani Tavio (born June 25, 1984 in Lappeenranta) is a Finnish politician and a member of the Parliament of Finland (MP). He is the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group since April 2019. Tavio joined the Finns Party in 2012. H ...

is the current chairman of the parliamentary group. *

Sanna Antikainen Sanna Maarit Antikainen (born 3 October 1988 in Kuopio) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinl� ...

( Savonia-Karelia,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

–) *

Juho Eerola Juho Seppo Antero Eerola (born 24 February 1975 in Kymi, Finland) is a Finnish politician of the Finns Party. He was elected to the Finnish Parliament in the 2011 election. He is also a member of the city council of Kotka. In the True Finns' par ...

( South-East, 2011–) *

Kike Elomaa Ritva Tuulikki "Kike" Elomaa (née ''Sainio''; born 16 July 1955, in Lokalahti) is a Finnish professional female bodybuilding champion, pop singer, and member of the Finnish Parliament. Early life and education Kike Elomaa was born in Lokalah ...

( Finland Proper, 2011–) *

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, 2011–14,

–) * Petri Huru (

, 2019–) *

Olli Immonen Olli Immonen (born 12 February 1986) is a member of the Finnish Parliament for the Finns Party and a former chairman of the nationalist organization Suomen Sisu. Immonen was born in Nivala, and received national attention in July 2015 after wr ...

( Oulu, 2011–) * Vilhelm Junnila ( Finland Proper,

–) * Kaisa Juuso ( Lapland,

–) * Arja Juvonen (

, 2011–) * Toimi Kankaanniemi (

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city o ...

, 2015–) * Ari Koponen (

–) * Jari Koskela (

–) * Jouni Kotiaho (

–) * Sheikki Laakso ( South-East,

–) * Rami Lehto ( Tavastia, 2015–) * Mikko Lundén ( Finland Proper,

–) *

Leena Meri Leena Kristiina Meri (born 12 April 1968) is a Finnish politician, representing the Finns Party in the Parliament of Finland. She has served in the Parliament since 2015 and in the City Council of Hyvinkää since 2013. Meri run to the Parliament ...

(

, 2015–) * Juha Mäenpää (

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

–) *

Jani Mäkelä Jani Kalevi Kristian Mäkelä (born 21 October 1976) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinlända ...

( South-East, 2015–) * Jukka Mäkynen (

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

–) *

Veijo Niemi Veijo Olavi Niemi (born 4 June 1954 in Lempäälä) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party at the Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Regi ...

(

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme an ...

–) *

Mika Niikko Mika Niikko (born 20 January 1967 in Lahti) is a Finnish politician and member of Finnish Parliament for Uusimaa, representing the Finns Party. He was elected to Finnish Parliament in 2011. He is the managing director of ''Takaisin elämään reg ...

(

, 2011–) * Tom Packalén (

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, 2011–) * Mauri Peltokangas (

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

–) * Sakari Puisto (

–) *

(

–) * Lulu Ranne ( Tavastia,

–) * Mari Rantanen (

–) *

Minna Reijonen Minna Helmi Reijonen (born 13 October 1972 in Nilsiä) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinlän ...

( Savonia-Karelia,

–) * Jari Ronkainen ( Tavastia, 2015–) *

Sami Savio Sami Juhani Savio (born 23 September 1975 in Mäntyharju) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party at the Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tamper ...

(

, 2015–) * Jenna Simula ( Oulu,

–) * Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo (

–) *

( Finland Proper, 2015–) * Sebastian Tynkkynen ( Oulu,

–) * Veikko Vallin (

–) * Ville Vähämäki ( Oulu, 2011–) *

Jussi Wihonen Jussi Wihonen is a Finnish politician who served in the Parliament of Finland from 2019 to 2023 for the Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-win ...

( Savonia-Karelia,

–) Ano Turtiainen was expelled from the parliamentary group in June 2020 due to a tweet he made about the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

. Since Turtiainen became an independent MP, the parliamentary group of the Finns Party is no longer the biggest opposition group (tied with the

National Coalition The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

Former Members of the Finnish Parliament

Simon Elo Simon Jakob Benjamin Elo (born 8 July 1986 in Lapinjärvi) is a Finnish politician and a former Member of Parliament. He was a representative in the Finns Party until 2017 and was the leader of Finns Party Youth from 2010 to 2014. He was elected ...

(2015–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Tiina Elovaara (2015–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

(2011–2019) *

(2003–07) * James Hirvisaari (2011–13; expelled from the party in 2013) * Reijo Hongisto (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

(2015–2019) * Laila Koskela (2011–14; defected to the Centre Party in 2014) * Lauri Heikkilä (2011–15) * Ari Jalonen (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

Anssi Joutsenlahti Anssi Joutsenlahti is a retired clergyman of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and a member of the parliament of Finland. He was most recently elected in the 2011 election, representing the Finns Party. In the parliament he was made 2nd ...

(2011–15; Rural MP 1979–87) * Johanna Jurva (2011–15) * Pietari Jääskeläinen (2009–15) * Pentti Kettunen (2011–15; Rural MP 1983–87, 1989–91) * Kimmo Kivelä (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Osmo Kokko (2011–15) * Kari Kulmala (2015–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Jari Lindström (2011–17, Minister for Justice and Employment 2015–19; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Maria Lohela (2011–17, Speaker of the Parliament 2015–2018; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Anne Louhelainen (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

Pirkko Mattila Pirkko Anneli Mattila is a Finnish politician and a former Member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Blue Reform party at the end of her tenure. She was first elected MP in the 2011 general election. Mattila replaced Hanna Mäntylä as ...

(2011–17; Minister for Social Affairs and Health 2016–19, defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Lea Mäkipää (2011–17;

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

MP 1983–95; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Hanna Mäntylä (2011–17, Minister for Social Affairs and Health 2015–2016; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Martti Mölsä (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

Jussi Niinistö Jussi Niinistö (born 27 October 1970 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician and a former Minister of Defence. Since 2011, he has been a member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Finns Party 2011–2017 and Blue Reform since 2017. By occupati ...

(2011–17, Minister for Defence 2015–19; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Pentti Oinonen (2007–11; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Mika Raatikainen (2014–19) *

(2015–17; defected to the National Coalition Party in 2017) * Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner (2007–15) * Vesa-Matti Saarakkala (2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) *

(2011–17, 2003–09,

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

2015–19; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Ismo Soukola (2011–15) *

Sampo Terho In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways that was constructed by the blacksmith Ilmarinen and that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (cornucop ...

(2015–17, Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sports 2017–19; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Maria Tolppanen (2011–16; defected to the SDP in 2016) * Reijo Tossavainen (2011–15) * Ano Turtiainen (2019–20, expelled from the parliamentary group in 2020 and from the party in 2021) *

Kaj Turunen Kaj Valentin Turunen (born 27 December 1960 in Lohja) is a Finnish politician. Turunen was elected to the Finnish Parliament in the 2011 election as a The Finns Party candidate from the electoral district of Southern Savonia with 2,631 votes. In ...

(2011–17; defected to Blue Reform in 2017) * Kauko Tuupainen (2011–15) *

Markku Uusipaavalniemi Markku Uusipaavalniemi (born 23 November 1966 in Karkkila) is a Finnish curler and former politician. Curling career Uusipaavalniemi was the skip of Team Finland for the first time in the mid-1990s. Most (but not all) of Finland's curling med ...

(2010–11; Centre MP 2007–10) * Veltto Virtanen (2007–15; Ecological Party MP 1995–99) *

(1995–11; Rural MP 1987–95) *

Juha Väätäinen Juha Väätäinen (born 12 July 1941) is a Finnish former athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships, held in Helsinki. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners, the ot ...

(2011–15)

Current Members of the European Parliament

(2019–) *

(2019–)

Former Members of the European Parliament

(2009–11) *

(2011–15)

Party chairmen

(2021–) *

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017Timo Soini Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962) is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2019. He was e ...

(1997–2017) *

(1995–97)

Party secretaries

* Arto Luukkanen (2021–) * Simo Grönroos (2019–2021) * Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo (2013–19) * Ossi Sandvik (2007–13) * Hannu Purho (1999–2007) * Rolf Sormo (1997–99) *

(1995–97)

Controversies

Several Finns Party MPs and other party leaders have made public statements which others have interpreted as being racist or otherwise inflammatory. In 2011 True Finn MP James Hirvisaari was fined 1,425 euro by the

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lappeenranta and northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is ...

Court of Appeals for comments he made on his blog about Muslims. In 2011 President

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisa ...

was quoted characterizing some True Finn voters as racist. Her comments were broadly condemned by the True Finn party. A 2011 book by Swedish journalist Lisa Bjurwald made a similar characterization, that the party's leaders support racist positions, while publicly denying that they do so. In 2011 MP Pentti Oinonen declined an invitation to the presidential Independence Day ball, citing his aversion to seeing same-sex couples dance. In a judgement given on 8 June 2012, MP

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician who has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

in his blog. In October 2013 it was reported that a Finns Party member of parliament, James Hirvisaari, had invited far-right activist

Seppo Lehto Seppo Lehto (born 6 September 1962 in Kuru) is a Finnish nationalist, currently living in Tampere. The main theme of his activism is the return of Finnish territories ceded to the Soviet Union in World War II. He also claims to lead several orga ...

as his guest to the parliament. During his visit, Lehto made several

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

s, including at least one instance where Hirvisaari took a photo of Lehto performing the Nazi salute from the spectator gallery overlooking the Parliament House's Session Hall. Photos and videos of Lehto performing the Nazi salute in the Parliament House were then distributed on Lehto's public Facebook page and on YouTube. After newspapers broke news of the incident, Speaker of the Parliament

Eero Heinäluoma Eero Olavi Heinäluoma (born 4 July 1955 in Kokkola) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2019. A former chairman of the Finnish Social Democratic Party, he was replaced in the party's leadership ...

issued a notice of censure to Hirvisaari for the incident and the Finns Party leadership unanimously decided to expel Hirvisaari from the party, citing multiple cases of acting against the party's interest. Hirvisaari then became affiliated with the

Change 2011 Change 2011 ( fi, Muutos 2011, sv, Förändring 2011) is a Finnish political party founded in 2009. The chairman of the party is Anita Saarinen. The party's name refers to 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, the first election the party particip ...

party as the party's MP, until he was unseated in the parliamentary election of 2015. In 2020, a number of members of The Finns party in parliament criticised the Academy of Finland for funding the research of Oula Silvennoinen at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

of the

European Jews The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Some Jews, a Judaean tribe from the Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. migrated to Europe just before the rise of the Roman Empire. A notable e ...

. Finns party politicians have frequently supported far-right and neo-nazi movements such as the Finnish Defense League,

Soldiers of Odin Soldiers of Odin (SOO; fi, Odinin sotilaat) is an anti-immigrant group which was founded in Kemi, Finland, in October of 2015. The group was established in response to the thousands of migrants who were arriving in Finland amidst the European ...

Nordic Resistance Movement The Nordic Resistance Movement; Norwegian: nb, Nordiske motstandsbevegelsen, NMB; nn, Nordiske motstandsrørsla NMR; fi, Pohjoismainen Vastarintaliike, PVL; is, Norræna mótstöðuhreyfingin, NMH; da, Den nordiske modstandsbevægelse, ...

(NRM), Rajat Kiinni (Close the Borders), and Suomi Ensin (Finland First). An anti-mosque demonstration was supported by the youth branch of the PS, whose chairman, Jarmo Keto, said that, "Islam as an ideology is responsible for many conflicts and terror attacks. Thus such a mosque project is an irresponsible idea." There have been numerous cases where members of the Finns Party have attracted criticism from the other parties and antifascists for attending events organized by or with the NRM. Several members of the Finns Party took part in an event where the participants shot and threw knives at targets, using photos of members of the

Rinne Cabinet The cabinet of Antti Rinne was the 75th government of Finland. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2019 and was formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 6 June 2019. The cabinet consisted of a coalition formed by the ...

and attended an event commemorating

Eugen Schauman Eugen Waldemar Schauman (russian: Евгений Владимирович Шауман, ''Evgeny Vladimirovich Shauman''); ( – ) was a Swedish speaking Finnish nationalist and nobleman. Schauman assassinated the Imperial Russian Governor-Gene ...

who assassinated Nikolay Bobrikov.

Notes

References

External links

{{Finnish political parties Right-wing populism in Finland Nationalist parties in Finland Eurosceptic parties in Finland Anti-Islam sentiment in Europe Anti-Islam political parties in Europe Economic nationalism European Conservatives and Reformists member parties 1995 establishments in Finland Political parties established in 1995 Parties represented in the European Parliament Registered political parties in Finland Right-wing populist parties National conservative parties Social conservative parties Conservative parties in Finland Right-wing parties in Europe Nordic agrarian parties

History

Finnish Rural Party

Founding of the Finns Party and its rise in popularity

Timo Soini

2017 leadership election and splits

In the European Parliament

Ideology

Policies and platform

Fiscal policies

Energy policies

Cultural policies

Social policies

Immigration policies

Foreign and defence policies

Judicial policies

Election results

Parliamentary elections

Presidential elections

European Parliament elections

Municipal elections

Leadership

Chairmanship and party secretaries

Board

Foundations

Elected representatives and leaders

Current Members of the Finnish Parliament

Former Members of the Finnish Parliament

Current Members of the European Parliament

Former Members of the European Parliament

Party chairmen

Party secretaries

Controversies

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links