People had a saying in Argentina when de facto régimes called the shots by ousting democratically elected governments: No hay mal que dure cien años, the longest day must have its end. One matter that the new military rulers made you feel was weak and vulnerable. The saying would apply well to National Coalition Party…
Tag: National Coalition Party
Finland: Between xenophobia and a hard place
Apart from being the most right-wing government in a hundred years, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government is doing everything possible to disenfranchise migrants and minorities. We can mention raising the citizenship requirements from five to eight years and excluding Russians from having dual citizenship as indicators of how xenophobia is driving Finnish politics. One Russian…
How Yle spreads and reinforces xenophobia with the help of stenography journalism
It is surprising that Finland’s national broadcaster, Yle, spreads xenophobia and suspicion of asylum seekers via its news reporting. Yle, never calls people attempting to enter Finland via the Finnish-Russian border asylum seekers but people who are attempting to enter the country illegally. The narrative spread by Yle reporters is a toothless stenographic copy of…
Iraqi family awaiting possible deportation
. At the end of December, an Iraqi family received news from the police that they’d be deported to Iraq in about two weeks. After many rejections for asylum by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) after living in Finland for eight years, it was the first time they had been hit with a deportation order….
Petteri Orpo, Mari Rantanen, Riikka Purra, and the government show contempt for Human Rights
It is shameful, but obvious, why Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, not one minister of the National Coalition Party and Perussuomalaiset,* mentions International Human Rights Day. Being white, driven by xenophobia and having a privileged life in Finland, it is understandable why such politicians see Human Rights as a threat. Former President Tarja Halonen (2000-2012)…
Questioning dual citizenship rights is another indication of Finland’s path to greater insularity.
Why is the dual citizenship issue being raised again by Yle? According to a survey of MPs, 34 would block dual Finnish-Russian citizenship, while 36 said they would not. Twenty-six had no opinion. Is it surprising that the majority of MPs who want to restrict dual citizenship are members of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National…
Racism and xenophobia will turn Finland into a Nordic Hungary
Since 2011, Finland has found a powerful political force in racism. If the country heads down the path of Hungary, it will do so with fearmongering about migrants and how such people abuse and use social welfare at the cost of white Finns. Even if the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* don’t hide their disdain for migrants and…
Fake news by Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen on how to take the media for a ride
Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)* interior minister, Mari Rantanen, has pulled another fast one on the media. Anti-immigration politicians usually make outrageous statements that are then rebuffed by the media. It is a course in Fake News 101. Even if Interior Minister Mari Rantanen admits her claim, that millions of migrants are coming to Finland, to be…
Close the Finnish-Russian border and leave everything to chance
I have always said that if there were another government, preferably without the National Coalition Party (NCP) and Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, the decision to shut the Russian-Finnish border would have some credibility. Source: X (formerly Twitter). The decision to close the border is first and foremost a political decision. It is a good way to shift…
Finnish government: Storms in a teacup and fearmongering from youth gangs to asylum seekers at the Finnish-Russian border
As a non-white Finn, it’s amazing how the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, with the support of the National Coalition Party (NCP),* work with tiny numbers and speak in the conditional. In Sweden, there are tens of thousands of people in gangs while in Finland their number total 150-200. The same strategy goes for the closing of the…