Tag: Denmark

HS in English: Europe’s true populists

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: It’s refreshing to read the work of a journalist like Lisa Bjurwald, who published on Monday her book, ”Europe’s Shame – Racists on the Rise.” Migrant Tales hasn’t let the Perussuomaliset (PS) party off the hook even if its leader, Timo Soini, and countless others assure us that they are a normal party that does not exploit and incite xenophobia, racism and fear. 

Writes HS in English: “Even though the True Finns are regarded in Finland as different from other populist parties, it is not true, Bjurwald claims. According to Bjurwald, it is typical of populism to appear ‘special.’ For example, in Hungary it is always argued that the right-wing Jobbik Party, which is calling for special separated-off areas for the Roma minority, has to be seen in the Hungarian context, as there the Roma are quite a special case.”

How one should treat a party like the PS in the media should not be difficult. Even so, we have had countless debates on Migrant Tales on what to call Suomen Sisu, which is more extreme than the PS. 

Migrant Tales does not have to cite the secret police or any other source to decide what describes an association like Suomen Sisu best. If we look at the racial views of the association, it can be described as “Nazi spirited” or even “Klu Klux Klan spirited.”  

HS in English continues quoting Bjurwald: ”Then we hear these statements like ”When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, which do not have any concrete content, but they increase the feeling of insecurity among a certain part of the population, for example immigrants.” 

The Swedish journalist is right by saying that there is high moral standard and leadership lacking in society. We are talking about a black spot on our democracy, she says. 

“Everyone can decide for themselves whom to vote for,” Bjurwald concludes. “But if the decision is made on the basis of false information and inspired with fear, someone has to say ’Stop.’” 

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By Anna-Liina Kauhanen in Stockholm 

The True Finns’ victory in Finland’s general elections gives Sweden and the entire European Union a lot to digest, says journalist Lisa Bjurwald from Stockholm, who watches the populist far-right parties.

Read whole story.

How to confront anti-immigration parties in the Nordic region

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The societies of the Nordic countries are still models for the rest of Europe and the world when it comes to social justice, equality, and inclusion. Slower economic growth is not the only threat that they face today, but an ever-growing minority that believes that exclusion of certain groups is acceptable.  

Is there such a thing as selective suspicion or hatred? Can you hate one group and claim to be not hate another? What happens to us if we begin to exclude some and include others in our society?

Far right and right-wing populist parties like the Perussuomalaiset  of Finland, Danish People’s Party, Progress Party of Norway, and Sweden Democrats have grown in recent years thanks to their anti-immigration rhetoric.

If there is a threat to the Nordic welfare state system and the values that uphold it, it is these parties’ anti-immigrant message that goes much deeper and further than meets the eye.

For one, and if we permit it, their view of society creates a paradox that will end up checkmating those values we hold so dear to us. You cannot further the cause of  social equality while on the other hand you aim to make other groups unequal.

Martin Luther King Jr. dealt with centuries of hatred and suspicion when he led and inspired others to the US Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Even if anti-immigration groups are hostile in their approach to their imagined and real enemies like immigrants, we must never succumb to their brand of hatred. We must remember King Jr. words: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

It should be one of the rallying cries of our cause.

Verkkolehti: Maahanmuuttokielteisyys on Suomessa vasta alullaan

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  This interview with researcher Pertti Joenniemi on this week’s Verkkolehti left me concerned. Joenniemi believes that the anti-immigration sentiment we are witnessing in Finland today is only the beginning and will get worse.  Joenniemi has lived in Denmark for the past 15 years.

According to the researcher, Denmark does not have any outside enemies and in order to bolster their national identity, some Danes have found that new “enemy” in immigrants and refugees.

In Finland the situation is different since we have a defined enemy. “Thank God we have such an enemy in Finland,” he said. “There is a mutual agreement (among Finns) that Russkies are Russkies full stop. We don’t have the same problem as Denmark since there is a foreign other. Our identity as Finns is clear since we know what does not and what does presumably threaten us.”

Joenniemi believes that the anti-immigrant sentiment will get worse in Finland before it improves. “In order to understand what is happening and to get ready for what awaits, it would be important to get acquainted with (what is happening) Denmark,” he said. 

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Jarkko Mänttäri

Tanskan kokemusten pohjalta erikoistutkija Pertti Joenniemi ennustaa, että maahanmuuttokielteisyys on Suomessa vasta alullaan. Pahempaa on tulossa.

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Spiegel Online International: Denmark To Get First Female Prime Minister

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  The Social Democrats have created election history in Denmark Thursday. They not only ended ten years of right-wing rule in Denmark and the role of the right-wing populist and xenophobic Danish People’s Party’s (DPP) in the passage of anti-immigration legislation,  but will give the country its first  woman prime minister.

The center-left alliance led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt won in Thursday’s election 92 of the 179 seats of the Danish parliament.

“We did it. We wrote history,” said Thorning-Schmidt.

Thorning-Schmidt, who has vowed to stem the influence of the DPP, which has divided Danish society and changed dramatically the political culture of the country. The DPP is the Perussuomalaiset’s unofficial mentor party on immigration and refugee policy.

Writes Spiegel Online International: “In recent years, the Danish People’s Party has been a regular fixture in the international headlines. At one point, the party calculated the total cost of foreign immigrants to the country. It also succeeded in forcing the government to implement permanent border controls, sidestepping the Schengen Agreement on open borders and alienating Denmark from its European Union neighbors. Most recently, party leader Pia Kjaersgaard pledged that all Danes would be provided with free supplies of pepper spray.

“There is a large consensus going deep into conservative Danish circles that the cooperation between the conservative-liberals and the conservatives in government with the right-populists ruined the country’s political culture,” the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten wrote in an editorial. “It was time for a new government. An era in Danish politics has ended.”

Pentti Joenniemi, who has lived as a researcher in Denmark for fifteen years, said in Kansan Uutiset Viikolehti that Denmark’s xenophobic streak stems from the lack of outside enemies. Immigrants have then become the “enemy,” according to him. Joenniemi believes that  Finland is following the same path as  Denmark. As Russia becomes less of a threat, xenophobia will begin to lift its head in Finland in the same way it has in Denmark.

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Danes awoke to a change of power on Friday after election results showed a narrow loss for the long-ruling center-right government. The country’s new center-left leader will be the first woman prime minister in Danish history, but Helle Thorning-Schmidt faces difficult coalition talks ahead.

Read whole story.

Elections in Nordic Region send clear message to Finland’s PS

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Anti-immigration populist parties in Norway and Denmark have suffered defeats in recent elections after mass-killer Anders Breivik went on the rampage on July 22. Both blows came this month. The first one was in the Norwegian municipal election, where the Progress Party (FrP) saw its support plunge by  6.1 percentage points to 11.5%. The second one happened Thursday in Denmark.

The neck-and-neck election in Denmark, which gave the left-leaning alliance led by the Social Democrats a victory, meant in effect an end to the pivotal role that the far-right Danish People’s Party (DPP) has played in the passage of strict immigration laws.

The election was historic since it will give Denmark its first-ever woman prime minister. The prime minister-elect, Helle Thoring-Schmidt, has said that she will refuse to work with the DPP and thereby stunt the influence of Pia Kjærsgaard’s party.

Even though Breivik forced voters in the Nordic region and Europe to think twice before supporting parties that use immigration as a populist ploy to prop up support, it was only a question of time when the anti-immigration message of the FrP and DPP would reach a dead-end. How long can people feed off xenophobia and simplistic views of other cultures and the world?

The big question to ask now is how the election results in Norway and Denmark will impact the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in 2012, when Finland holds presidential and municipal elections.

Voters in Norway, Denmark and even in Sweden, where the far-right Sweden Democrats have seen their support decline in a post-Breivik world, have spoken: We don’t like hate speech, far-right nationalism and populism. It should not characterize our political system.

One of the reasons why the PS still does well in the polls in Finland is because it has become today an anti-EU party as opposed to one that is mainly anti-immigration. If PS MP Juss Halla-aho and his cronies would have gone on the anti-immigration rampage as they did before the April election, Timo Soini’s party would probably have seen a sharp fall in its popularity today.

It would be naive, however, to think that the PS has now shifted course on its anti-immigration message. It is still there as an undercurrent ready to  surface when the political situation is opportune.

Voters in Finland, like those in Norway and Denmark, should make it clear next year that we in Finland want a civil debate about immigration not one characterized by free-for-all hate speech.

Newsday: Danish exit polls show opposition winning election

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  Exit polls in Denmark show that the left-leaning opposition Social Democratic Party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt winning a majority int he 179-sea parliament. The best news to come out of Denmark is that this puts an end to the right-wing populist Danish People’s Party (DPP) role in forcing the country to have the strictest immigration laws in Europe.

Since 2001, minority right-wing governments have relied on the support of the DPP. 

If Thorning-Schmidt’s bloc wins the election, she will become the first woman to lead the Danish government.

The Social Democrats have refused to work with the DPP and have said publicly that they will stem the influence of Pia Kjærsgaard’s party.

Migrant Tales will publish more on the Danish elections later on.

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Danish voters appeared set to elect their first female prime minister Thursday and end 10 years of pro-market reforms and a hardening of immigration laws.

Read whole story here.

Der Spiegel International: Right-Wing Populists Face Test in Denmark

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The right-wing populist Danish People’s Party will face an important election test on Thursday two months after right-wing fanatic Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway. The first test for anti-immigration populist parties came this month in the Norwegian municipal elections, were the Progress Party saw its support plummet by 6.1 percentage points to 11.5%.

Migrant Tales predicted shortly after Breivik’s mass killings in Norway that an important watershed was crossed and that support, at least momentarily, would wane for anti-immigration parties in the Nordic Region.

A Megafon poll for Politiken and TV2News published on September 12 showed that the opposition alliance will win 92 seats compared with the government’s 83 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Ten years of sustaining a minority government in Denmark has permitted the Danish People’s Party to turn the country’s immigration legislation into Europe’s strictest. Here is a story on The Local of Sweden that highlights the problems that some multicultural couples face due in Denmark.

Karsten Dybvad, the CEO of the Danish Confederation of Industries, suggested on Politiken that Denmark’s strong anti-immigration and especially anti-Muslim stance have hurt the country’s image abroad.  “We have surveys showing that businesses feel we have problems with our cultural openness and image abroad. That is of course something we would like to help improve,” Dybvad says.

Contrary to Norway, Denmark and Sweden, where the Sweden Democrats have lost support in a recent poll, the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party continues to receive strong support in Finland. This maybe partly explained by the fact that the PS is now emphasizing more of its anti-EU side rather than its opposition to immigration.

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Just two months after the politically inspired massacre in Norway, a right-wing populist party, one of Europe’s most influential, will face a test of voter sentiment at the ballot box. The Danish People’s Party has been instrumental in tightening at least 20 laws pertaining to immigration and migration.

Read whole story.

Politiken.dk: Opposition well ahead in Denmark –bad news for anti-immigration DPP party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The most revealing news about the poll by Politiken and TV2 of Denmark is that the days of the Danish People’s Party (DPP) appear to be coming to an end as a powerful anti-immigration voice in the country. The DPP has played a key role in Danish politics since 2001 by supporting governments consisting of the Liberals and Conservatives. In exchange for the DPP’s support, the government has offered to pass tougher anti-immigration laws. 

Denmark has today one of the strictest immigration laws in the EU.

As the poll shows, the tide is turning against the rhetoric and hardline stance of the anti-immigration DPP. Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen vowed to voters that if  the Liberals and Conservatives got re-elected to government, the DPP would not form part of the new cabinet.

The DPP is a good example of the possible fate of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. Anti-immigration rhetoric has its limits politically, even if it has helped keep some far-right parties like the DPP in power for a number of years.

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With widespread rumours that the prime minister will be calling an election next week, the latest Megafon opinion poll for Politiken and TV2 puts the opposition alliance firmly ahead.

Read whole story.

euronews: Automatic deportation for foreign criminals in Denmark

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  The new law in Denmark, which passed by a wide majority and will now allow convicted immigrants to be deported after serving their prison sentences, is another example of how this small nation continues to dig itself deeper in a hole of its fears.

Immigrants, and especially Muslims, seem to bring out the worst of Denmark. Even so, the sad truth of the matter is that no matter how many times the Danish People’s Party (DPP) demands yet another tightening of immigration laws with the collaboration of the major parties, their fears and nationalism to keep immigrants and their children in line will never be banished nor fed.

The new tightening of the screws of the law will only bring more conflict, suffering and shame on Denmark, but reveal to future historians how the country lost it to nationalism and xenophobia. 

Taking into account that our anti-immigration party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS), is a member the Europe for Freedom and Democracy group in the European  parliament together with the DPP and other right-wing populist groups like the Lega Nord of Italy and Slovak National Party, it is no surprise that we are already hearing MPs clamoring for Finland to follow the Danish model.

PS MP Reijo Tossavainen, who recently said that Finland should shelve its international agreements and close the border to asylum-seekers, wrote on his Uusi Suomi blog that he only saw benefits to the country if it started deporting sentenced immigrants.

“Benefits can be found,” he writes. “In the first place, our country’s prisons are already so full that such a situation has been used as an argument to lighten (prison) sentences. Moreover, one day in prison costs the Finnish taxpayer more than one day in a middle-priced hotel.”

Tossavainen writes that a convicted immigrants should be deported irrespective if the person has family in Finland.

It is unfortunate for Denmark and for PS MPs like Tossavainen that tougher laws aren’t the panacea for our immigration problems.

In many cases tougher immigration laws only worsen them.

Meanwhile, recent comments in the end of May from the Danish immigration minister, Søren Pind, that foreigners should “assimilate” or leave, coupled with the country’s recent unilateral decision to reinstate border checks, have left some residents questioning the motivation behind the crackdown on Marmite, the yeast extract spread.

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In the future, foreign nationals who are convicted of a crime and sent to prison in Denmark will be automatically deported on their release. The controversial legislation sailed through parliament in Copenhagen by 97 votes to 7.

Read whole story.

Finland has been challenged by an anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If I were the head of Finland’s secret police, Supo, I would have sent a long time ago my best agents to investigate whether there is a connection and well-orchestrated plan by far-right groups in Europe and Suomen Sisu to the Perussuomalaiset’s (PS) election victory in April.

If  Supo decided to leave many stones unturned on this front or keep such information to itself, I would as head of a large Finnish daily send my best investigative reporters to find the tensions and links between Timo Soini’s SMP wing of PS and the MPs that belong to the Suomen Sisu association.

Here are some of the matters I’d ask my reporters to investigate: (1) Is there a greater-than-known link between Suomen Sisu/PS and other right-wing populist parties in Europe like the Danish People’s Party (DPP)? What level of consultancy work have the DPP given to Suomen Sisu/PS to spread more effectively the Islamophobic message in Finland? (2) Is one of the attack strategies of such a sinister plan overwhelming the net with Islamophobist websites like Hommaforum, which have close links to Suomen Sisu?

Apart from Migrant Tales, groups like Hommaforum have inhibited researchers, common Finns and bloggers to speak out against their xenophobic and nationalist message. Our blog was attacked by over 800 Hommaforum supporters in September 2008.

As head of Supo or of a major daily, I would look at the reaction of the politicians and society towards rising xenophobia in Finland. Did politicians cave in to the Islamophobia and reacted too late and with too little firepower? Or did the message of people like PS MP Jussi Halla-aho appeal and serve the interests of some like Kokoomus and the Social Democratic Party?

The biggest loser of the election was the Center Party. That party under the leadership of former Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi lost the most votes due to her pro-EU and outspoken stance against the PS.

Sometimes you need to cash in defeat in order to become stronger in the future. President Barak Obama is a good example by being one of the few senators that opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Thanks to his leadership, he was able to reap lots of advantages against his Republican rival John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

Nothing happens by chance never mind getting 19.1% of the votes from 4.05% four years earlier. Certainly outside factors like the global financial meltdown of September 2008 and the EU bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal played crucial roles that benefited the PS. Even so, living in denial and playing down such a threat and lack of leadership by political parties probaby played an even bigger role in boosting the PS.

Despite the good fortunes of the Soini’s party, there is one lesson that can be learned: If you don’t stand up to right-wing populism it will end up challenging your power base. Why? Because it is a message of hatred that divides our societies and impoverishes us in the end economically and socially.

That is why we need today more than ever leadership concerning the menace that has challenged our society with its anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam message.