IN 2011 Finland broke a long habit and held an interesting election. The True Finns, a Eurosceptic party led by Timo Soini, a portly rabble-rouser with a fondness for Millwall, a minor London football team, came from nowhere to win 19% of the vote, shaking up Finland’s cosy political consensus and alerting Europe to a new generation of populist parties.
When Mr Soini withdrew from coalition talks over euro-zone policy, says an observer, he had “tears in his eyes”. But after four years in the wilderness he is seeing straight. On April 19th his party, now The Finns, came second in the Finnish election, taking 38 of the 200 seats in parliament. That is one fewer than last time, but Mr Soini may well join a coalition government led by Juha Sipila (pictured above), whose Centre Party took 49 seats.
That may seem odd. Greece is again in trouble. If its cash-strapped government survives until the end of June, it may need a third bail-out. The mood in Finland has not softened. Yet Mr Soini apparently has. Although he says Greece should be kicked out of the single currency, his zest for power seems stronger than his distaste for euro-zone…
The Economist: Europe
IN 2011 Finland broke a long habit and held an interesting election. The True Finns, a Eurosceptic party led by Timo Soini, a portly rabble-rouser with a fondness for Millwall, a minor London football team, came from nowhere to win 19% of the vote, shaking up Finland’s cosy political consensus and alerting Europe to a new generation of populist parties.
When Mr Soini withdrew from coalition talks over euro-zone policy, says an observer, he had “tears in his eyes”. But after four years in the wilderness he is seeing straight. On April 19th his party, now The Finns, came second in the Finnish election, taking 38 of the 200 seats in parliament. That is one fewer than last time, but Mr Soini may well join a coalition government led by Juha Sipila (pictured above), whose Centre Party took 49 seats.
That may seem odd. Greece is again in trouble. If its cash-strapped government survives until the end of June, it may need a third bail-out. The mood in Finland has not softened. Yet Mr Soini apparently has. Although he says Greece should be kicked out of the single currency, his zest for power seems stronger than his distaste for euro-zone…
The Economist: Europe
