By Saara Hartikainen

The results of the Finnish parliamentary elections are out and 200 Members of Parliament have been voted into office. The indisputable winner is the Centre Party and its leader Juha Sipilä,  who came fresh from the business world into politics three years ago to clear the reputation of the scandal-hit party. Sipilä’s calm and serious demeanor and the time the Centre Party spent in opposition, away from the previous government´s mishaps, enabled it  to increase its seats in parliament to forty-nine.

The government’s partners, the National Coalition Party and the Social-Democratic Party, both suffered a defeat. The SDP mourns the worst result of its history: a decrease to 34 seats. The National Coalition´s energetic leader Alexander Stubb did not manage to repeat party´s previous success and has had to settle for  third place in this competition. Dubbed “the worst government in history”, the coalition of six parties with a right-wing prime minister and left-wing finance minister was unable to be true to Nordic consensus politics.

While the Centre was accurately predicted to claim the throne, the biggest surprise of the elections is the Finns Party (previously known as True Finns). The critics of the party saw their grand victory of gaining 39 seats in the elections of 2011 as a protest movement that would fall apart before the next round. It was seen as a new party with inexperienced politicians and no consistent ideology except for Euroscepticism and anti-immigration. If nothing else, critics suggested that the party’s refusal to engage in negotiations to form a government in 2011 and stand as an opposition party in the parliament would have eaten away its support. Wrong.

The Finns Party led by the charismatic Timo Soini is back for a new start with 38 seats in the new parliament. Becoming the second biggest party of the country, the Finns cannot be excluded from the government negotiations. The policies of the Finns seem to find the people’s support, especially due to the uncertain economic situation, the pressure felt from the influx of immigrants into Europe and the instability in Greece. While its opponents hoped for its quick death, the party continues to gain momentum. Drawing support from small business owners and lower income groups, the Finns have managed to seduce voters from traditional left-wing parties such as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Left Alliance.the drop in support for the SDP amongst workers and individuals with more left-wing economic preferences is largely due to the cooperation of the SDP with the right wing Coalition in the previous government. The alternative to the SDP – the Left Alliance – have been deemed by the workers to be too “green”, too multiculturalist and too academic. To these workers, the Left Alliance is no longer seen to be on the left of economic dimension.

Neither the SDP nor the Left Alliance have managed to convince workers that they are still on their side. They claim that the Finns Party party is inherently racist and close-minded in its views of the European Union and especially the Eurozone. The success of the Finns is blamed on xenophobic and patriarchal views that persist within Finnish culture.

However, one needs to contextualise the electoral success of the Finns Party. Finland is one of the four Nordic universal welfare states. Rising unemployment and the cutting of welfare benefits have been felt particularly amongst the lower socio-economic groups. Their primary concerns are not in development aid, the need for immigration to sustain working population or the financial markets. They are worried about their own benefits: pensions, unemployment benefits, health care benefits and the quality of education system.

The Finns have addressed these issues far more loudly than the old left-wing. The Eurosceptic and anti-immigration attitudes cannot necessarily be explained by culture. They are manifestations of the economic concerns. Timo Soini and his group have managed to harness these worries, but not with traditional leftist rhetoric. While the left is seen as academic and alienated from its voters, the Finns speak to the people in their language. Right after the electoral defeat of the Left Alliance, one of its MEPs has already called for the party to remember its traditional voters – workers in the industry sector.

Blaming your core audience as racist and inhumane is a way to alienate your voters and drive them to someone who listens. Following some scandals around a few novice MEPs, the Finns Party has proven that it has a base of voters which would not abandon it. If the left-wing does not  begin to recognize the priorities of the workers and other low income groups, the Finns are here to stay.

Featured Image Credit: Miemo Penttinen, Flickr CC. License available here.