Finland’s Turn to Right Sends Shivers Through Euro Zone

[pampango]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/world/europe/22finland.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

There is hardly a country on the continent that has been a more steadfast supporter of the European Union than Finland. For more than 20 years, the voters here have returned the same three parties to power in various coalition governments, with few changes in policies.

Until now.

In the general election last weekend, the nationalist and populist True Finn Party emerged from political obscurity after largely campaigning on the evils of the European Union and its bailouts of Greece and Ireland. It claimed 39 seats in Finland’s Parliament — almost eight times the number it won in the 2007 election — and it is likely to become a partner in any coalition government.

Finland is not alone. Anti-European Union and anti-immigration parties have been on the rise in Sweden, Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands in the past year, and more may follow. It is a worrisome trend for supporters of the union, and for efforts to safeguard the euro by offering emergency loans to the weakest member nations and to better coordinate budget and spending policies in the countries that use it.

The two issues — the European Union and immigration — are increasingly being linked across Europe. “The overwhelming draw of parties like the True Finns is the feeling among some Europeans that they are losing control of their destiny and that their nations are losing their identity,” said Magali Balent, an expert on European politics at the Robert Schuman Foundation in Paris.

In the European news media, particularly in Sweden, the True Finns have come under fire as right-wing racists. Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and others have defended Mr. Soini from such accusations, though other members of his party hold more radical views on immigration.

“The overwhelming draw of parties like the True Finns is the feeling among some Europeans that they are losing control of their destiny and that their nations are losing their identity" sounds like a European version of "we want our country back". Gotta keep those "others" - immigrants and foreigners - as distant as possible, so we can go back to the "good ol' days".

Apparently right wing "populism" is a global phenomenon. Fortunately they are still a fairly small minority, but increasing, so they can't be ignored. Should the left become more like the "populist" right and adopt a more anti-immigration and nationalist (sovereignty above multilateral engagement) stance or continue to support multiculturalism and deeper cooperation with other countries?

[xchrom]

1. very interesting situation.

the expectation -- i think -- is that they will stick with the bail out/austerity track for greece, portugal -- but it does bear watching.

[CTyankee]

2. I tend to sympathize more with the Finns than say, the French or the Dutch, who

colonized so much of Africa, broke it up and robbed the people of their natural resources and left them impoverished and fighting over the crumbs they Europeans left behind.

But I have not studied the essential problems of "the European Union" vis a vis immigration. I'd like to get a good book on it that deals with the issue in terms we can understand and is not highly technical.

[iwishiwas]

3. FitzWalkerStan is a coming to Finland--no doubt about it.