I can’t remember. It’s not important anyway. Finland’s political amnesia shrowded in denial and hostility comes in the form of knee-jerk reactions. Those knee-jerk reactions may appear by acting dumb to difficult questions or by destroying your credibility in public. I met Maryan Abdulkarim many years ago and commended her bravery in the face of
Read on »Posts Tagged: timo soini
The PS was, is, and will be a party with close ties to neo-Nazi and fascist groups
From the days when Timo Soini headed the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to the present, there’s one denial coming from the party that is an outright lie: The PS is not a far-right party with links to neo-Nazi, fascist and far-right groups. I could list several examples, but let’s look at Kansallismielisten liittouma, a perfect example of the
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: The PS is the party of the nativist racists sprinkled with anti-EU soundbites
“No matter what the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party does, no matter who it elects as its next chairperson, the shadow of racism will follow it. Even if people like Timo Soini said that the party’s anti-immigration wing was only a minor factor in the 2011 parliamentary election, nothing could be further from the truth. Like
Read on »Hall of Shame: Finland’s 2020 Islamophobic and Afrophobic network
Choosing the key figures in the Islamophobic and Afrophobic Hall of Shame wasn’t difficult even during a year ravaged by Covid-19. The task was to choose the most obvious culprits and other ones in the media that fuel and maintain such a toxic environment. In putting together this year’s Hall of Shame, I was quickly
Read on »Suomen Kuvalehti (26.11.2010): Maahanmuuttajia on syytä kiittää
Lue alkuperäinen kirjoitus tästä.
Read on »Attacks against Soini, Ahmed and the Muslim community of Finland are symptoms of our silence
What do the attacks against Blue Reform Foreign Minister Timo Soini in Vantaa Sunday and today against Left Alliance MP candidate Suldaan Said Ahmed tell us about today’s Finland? They tell us of a country that has been asleep to the threat of far-right extremism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism and hate speech.
Read on »Once again politicians and the media show no leadership about the terrorist attack in New Zealand
The atrocity we witnessed through the media of the cold-blooded and calculated killings that left so far 49 dead and many wounded in New Zealand were not mentioned once by some ministers on Facebook. These ministers are the ones who have fueled and nurtured Finland’s hostile environment against Muslims and migrants. Moreover, how many editorials were written in the Finnish media about what happened and how it is a warning to us too?
Read on »Shed an alligator tear for me: Foreign Minister Timo Soini condemns terrorist attack in New Zealand
After creating a hostile environment against Muslims and migrants in Finland, Blue Reform* Foreign Minister Timo Soini has the audacity to condemn what happened in New Zealand as “cowardly,” according to Yle News. We condemn him and the actions of the Finnish government of cowardice in the face of defending and making every Muslim and migrant feel secure in Finland.
Read on »Timo Soini to retire from politics
Foreign Minister Timo Soini, 56, who inspired Islamophobes, racists and conservative nationalists to have a political voice and platform to lash out at migrants and minorities, announced that he will not seek a new term in parliament, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Soini, who calls himself a devout Catholic, will be remembered as a conservative populist politician who led the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to national prominence by capitalizing on populist anti-immigration sentiment.
Read on »Suomen Kuvalehti (25.11.2010): Maahanmuuttajia on syytä kiittää
Read on »
Epäluottamusmies: Kysymys Timo Soinille: onko elämä pyhä?
Timo Soini on menettänyt kaikki: hänen populistinen, maahanmuutto- ja naisvihan puolue perussuomalaiset ja siniset. Hän on tehnyt paljon tuhoa suomen hyvä maineen. Samaan ryhmään ovat kokoomus ja keskusta. Soini saa luottamuksen äänin 100-60 vaikka hänen kantaa aborttiin on suomen lain vastaan. Katso alkuperänen piirros tästä.
Read on »Perussuomaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari lietsoo vihaa ja väkivaltaa
Perussuomalaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari koki ilkivaltaa tammikuussa kun hänen kodinikkuna oli hajotettu. Kun islamofoobinen äärioikestolainen valkoinen nainen kokee ilkivaltaa sitä tehdään iso numero.
Read on »Finland’s lost decade flirting with racism, fascism and the Perussuomalaiset party
Sampo Terho, minister culture, sport and European affairs, was elected on Saturday to chair Blue Reform, a Lilliputian party that split from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* after their plush ministerial jobs were on the line after Jussi Halla-aho was elected PS chairperson in June.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Defecting from a single-issue party like the PS of Finland
Pekka Sinisalo defects from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to the Blue Reform party because, under Jussi Halla-aho, it is a single-issue party. Before the PS imploded in June, it was a supposedly a 1.5-issue party. The Finnish media forgets that the PS is the only party in modern Finnish history that decided to target and capitalize on Islamophobia
Read on »Sira Moksi: Soinin perintö Suomelle
Timo Soini’s fall from grace and the legacy of planting the political seeds of bigotry and racism in Finland
One lesson we could learn from former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini is that the right balance between flattery and speaking in code will get you everywhere, well, almost everywhere. You can win big elections like in 2011 and ride, albeit momentarily, the crest of the popularity wave until you hit the wall in disgrace with your fingers badly burned.
Read on »Introducing presidential hopeful Laura Huhtasaari, the Islamophobe with the kindergarten teacher smile
The far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced Friday that their first vice president, Laura Huhtasaari, is their candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. The announcement didn’t surprise anyone but it did raise a lot of media and social media interest.
Read on »Disingenuous Timo Soini should take a long look in the mirror
If there is a power-hungry politician who will do almost anything to gain power and lose it in an instant, that politician is Timo Soini. Apart from being a disingenuous politician who saw his populist creation inflate and implode, he is a sore loser as well. In an interview in Tampere-based daily Aamulehti, he claims
Read on »The old and new Perussuomalaiset: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…
After the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party imploded on June 13 into two factions, there’s been a lot of finger-pointing from members of the old and new PS. This is nothing new coming from a party that has a long track record in scapegoating migrants and minorities.
Read on »Old or new Perussuomalaiset or new or old Perussuomlaiset – it’s a new Cadillac model!
We saw on Tuesday quite a political show in Finland with 22 MPs ditching the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and forming a new party called for now New Alternative. But don’t hold your breath because nothing has changed it’s just a marketing of the same thing – right-wing populist nationalism and all the toxicity that goes with it.
Read on »The PS splits into two factions – chairperson Jussi Halla-aho faces unprecedented mutiny
The former chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Timo Soini, has struck back at the newly elected head of the PS, Jussi Halla-aho, by joining 20-MPs to dith the PS and form a new parliamentary bloc called Uusi vaihtoehto, or New Alternative, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The new bloc stated that it wants to remain
Read on »Is there such a thing as a “new” and “old” Perussuomalaiset party?
Is there such a thing as a “new” and “old” Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party? If you ask Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Minister Petteri Orpo there is. But if you are a migrant, asylum seeker or minority in Finland, it’s doubtful that you would make such a difference.
Read on »Timo Soini (2013): “No. I’m a Catholic Christian by definition, I cannot be a racist”
Check this interview dating back to 2013 in BBC’s HARDtalk when outgoing Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman denies the party’s racism problem and defends MEP Jussi Hall-aho, who is going to purge him as foreign minister if elected as PS chairman this weekend.
Read on »Even if politics makes strange bedfellows, Timo Soini’s bed partners are eerie
Remember the speech below when Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaisiet were riding the crest of a wave after his populist anti-immigration won the parliamentary elections of 2011, when it saw its MPs rise to 39 from 5 in the previous election?
Read on »Finnish municipal elections analysis: Anti-immigration and us-vs-them politics aren’t sustainable
One of the most important lessons of Sunday’s municipal elections is that the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, and especially its conservative anti-immigration message and wing, are the biggest losers.
Read on »Finnish municipal elections: Greens make big gains, Perussuomalaiset are the biggest losers
The result of Sunday’s municipal elections were especially good news especially for migrants and minorities, who have been a target of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party chiefly after the parliamentary elections of 2011, when it won 39 seats (19.05%) from 5 MPs (4.05%) in the previous elections.
Read on »Timo Soini and the denial of Finland’s racism problem
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini announced after being at the helm of the anti-immigration party for twenty years that he’ll step down as chairman in June. The narrative and the way that some newspapers and politicians are picturing Soini is a good example of Finland’s denial of racism.
Read on »Behind Timo Soini of the populist Perussuomalaiset party is a hefty and mini #socialmediafrankenstein called Jussi Halla-aho and Sampo Terho
One of the biggest questions some observers have asked in Finland is what house of horrors will appear after the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* return to the minor political leagues. We got the answer today when PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho announced that he too is vying to chair the xenophobic party.
Read on »The final countdown of the PS’ return to the political minor leagues begins as Timo Soini bows out as chairman in June
Right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman, Timo Soini, announced Sunday that he wouldn’t seek a new term as party head at the forthcoming party convention in Jyväskylä in early June. He has head the party since 1997.
Read on »Finns have finally woken up to a lie and bully called the Perussuomalaiset party
After bullying, labeling and scapegoating migrants and minorities for a number of years, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* appear to be returning to the minor one-digit political leagues, if a recent poll by Helsingin Sanomat is true. Those groups that the PS spread lies about will have the last laugh.
Read on »Will Donald Trump breathe new life into a doomed party called the Perussuomalaiset?
Donald Trump’s election victory has emboldened our own group of populists, racists, and bigots in Finland who pray what happened in the United States will breathe new life into a political disaster called the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. There are many reasons why copying and pasting populist rhetoric in the United States won’t work in Finland.
Read on »Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini considers new gender and social equality guidelines as “rampant humbug”
Finland is a great country when it comes to good laws that promote social equality. The latest non-discrimination act, which came into force in 2015, is a case in point. Such laws are important in the face of ever-growing social inequality and polarization of society.
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Timo Soinin uusfasistiset kytkennät
Reija Härkönen Timo Soinin ja perussuomalaisen puolueen äärioikeistokytkennät ovat ilmiselviä. Hän on ottanut puolueensa jäseniksi ja kansanedustajaehdokkaiksi äärioikeistolaisia ja julkirasistisella agendalla toimivia henkilöitä. Soini on nostanut perussuomalaisten puoluelehtien päätoimittajaksi äärioikeistolaisen Matias Turkkilan, Jussi Halla-ahon vaalipäällikön ja Hommaforumin perustajan. Soini on joskus jopa puoluekokouksessa kehaissut Hommaforumia malliesimerkkinä hyvästä poliittisesta toiminnasta. Kurkistetaanpa Hommaforumin etusivulle tänään 22.9.2016. Niin
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Kuulutko vaikenevaan enemmistöön
Sanotaan, että juutalaisten joukkomurha Saksassa ei olisi ollut mahdollista, jos vaikeneva enemmistö olisi kunnolla asettunut vastustamaan tapahtumien kulkua. Jälkeenpäin on ollut vaikea saada selville miksi kävi niin, että tavalliset, hyvät ihmiset antoivat sen kaiken tapahtua.
Read on »Turning Finland into a post-Brexit United Kingdom mess where xenophobia, privilege and disunity are the rules
It was yesterday when I tweeted with a person who expressed extremist views about immigration as Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen does on a Facebook posting below claiming as the result of the terrorist attack in Nice, France, we should prohibit people from the Middle East and Africa from entering Finland.
Read on »If Donald Trump had a “good cop” that person would be Timo Soini
US Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, can be in the spotlight thanks to his racist rants. Some journalists in Finland have tried unsuccessfully to ask what Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Foreign Minister Timo Soini, a populist, what he thinks of Trump.
Read on »The “Denmarkization” of Finnish immigration policy
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) are eager to pass legislation that will not only hurt asylum seekers but all migrants and minorities that live in Finland. After breaking almost all of their campaign promises and after their poll rating have plummeted to single-digit percentages, the PS only have one trump card left in their political bag of tricks: anti-immigration rhetoric and policy.
Read on »How Timo Soini and the PS hope that the terrorist attacks of Paris will give them a picker-upper in the polls
Below are two quotes. One is by the present foreign minister, Timo Soini, and the other below is by former Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. Soini is a member of a party that made its mark in politics thanks to its anti-immigration and isolationist rhetoric.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Would you buy a used car from PS’ Timo Soini?
Timo Soini is chairman of the nationalist populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. After the most recent opinion polls showed that the political future of the PS is bleak to say the least, what will Soini do after his party returns to the minor political leagues? Will he start to sell used cars?
Read on »What has the PS given to Finland apart from destroying our international image, labeling migrants and polarizing society?
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are one of the worst surprises that Finland got after 2011. If the latest opinion poll is anything to go by, the nationalist populist party has returned to the minor political leagues, where it was originally from.
Read on »The Finnish Ku Klux Klan impersonator was really Timo Soini’s and the Perussuomalaiset’s ogre
When racism lifts its head in Finland Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman and foreign minister, Timo Soini, usually gives us a lesson in denial: “We’re not racists.”
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Dublinin sopimusta ei solmittu persuja varten
Perussuomalaisten tapa esittää vääriä väitteitä Dublinin sopimuksesta on käsittämätöntä. Kuinka suomalaisen hallituspuolueen puheenjohtaja ja maamme ulkoministeri voi tuolla mittakaavalla osoittaa tietämättömyytensä tai yksinkertaisesti valehdella ja kiihottaa kansaa pakolaisia vastaan?
Read on »Far right Olli Immonen is a thankless MP to the PS and Timo Soini
Some politicians, like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Olli Immonen live in a bubble inflated by their rhetoric and delusions. We got a taste of his hateful ideology in July, when he declared war on “the nightmare of multiculturalism” and how he vowed that “his fighters” will “fight until the end for our homeland.”
Read on »The Finnish government shrinks in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Europe
The Finnish government is sending mixed messages about its role in the humanitarian crisis that Europe faces today. A good example of the latter is Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s announcement last week when he offered his home to refugees but last Friday the government unveiled plans to demote refugees that get a residence permit to second-class status.
Read on »Finland says yes to Commission refugee scheme but is still wishy-washy about its role in the crisis
While the announcement by Interior Minister Petteri Orpo that Finland will accept 2,400 asylum seekers under a European Commission scheme is a positive step in the right direction, according to YLE in English, what message does it send?
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset is a racist and far right party because…
No matter how much Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Matti Purkonen, MP Sampo Terho or Timo Soini assure us that they are against racism and fascism, the more they incriminate their party. Renouncing racism and far right ideology would be tantamount to committing political hara-kiri for the PS.
Read on »Thank you Timo Soini and Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo for showing us (again) how big of a social ill racism is in Finland
Imagine how a political party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* can destroy with their xenophobic and populist sound bites not only the credibility of a government that’s planning to slash billions of euros but the good name of this country abroad.
Read on »Turncoats and the Perussuomalaiset of Finland
Can you trust a party that says one thing and then does the other? If you look at the adamant stand that the the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and its leader, Timo Soini, had against any bailouts for Greece, we have now witnessed one of the biggest turncoat performances in Finnish politics ever. This link in Finnish will
Read on »A nightmare called the Perussuomalaiset
The populist anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) held over the weekend their party conference in Turku. There were two matters that summarize the conference: the party’s hostility towards migrants and the media.
Read on »Jussi Jalonen: Timo Soini ja suomalainen äärioikeisto
Jussi Jalonen Ulkoministeri ja peruspomo Timo Soini on tänään palaillut lomiltaan ja ottanut saman tien kantaa kohta pari viikkoa velloneeseen kohuun kansanedustaja Olli Immosen lausuntojen ympärillä. Samassa yhteydessä Soini tuomitsi jyrkästi myös kansallisen vastarintaliikkeen tuoreen mellakoinnin Jyväskylässä ja rinnasti rettelöinnin Tampereen toissavuotisiin itsenäisyyspäivän rettelöihin. Soinin sananvalinta on sikäli erikoinen, että kukaan ei ole varsinaisesti milloinkaan odottanut
Read on »Avoin kirje perussuomalaisille ja Timo Soinille
Koska meilläkin on unelmamme. Eilen olin yksi niistä yli 15 000 ihmisestä, jotka olivat Kansalaistorilla näyttämässä tukemme moninaiselle, monikulttuuriselle ja vihattomalle Suomelle. Me emme usko rasismiin emmekä salli rasismia fasismilla maustettuna tai ilman. Olemme asiassa todella yksimielisiä. Joukosta löytyy monia kaltaisiani, jotka ovat itse mamuilleet muilla mailla tai muuten vaan työskennelleet monimuotoisissa ja monikulttuurisissa työskentely-ympäristöissä.
Read on »Timo Soini overjoyed by Danish election result and good showing of the Islamophobic DPP
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Chairman and Foreign Minister Timo Soini wrote in his blog today that he was elated that the xenophobic Danish People’s Party emerged in the Danish elections as the second-biggest party after the Social Democrats.
Read on »Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini is against European Commission plans to spread refugees among EU states
In a ploki, a nationalistic Finnish translation of blog, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Foreign Minister Timo Soini states that he’s against European Commission (EC) plans to spread refugees throughout the community.
Read on »UPDATE (June 10): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. June 10 Suurlähetystö joutuu selittelemään Timo Soinia: “Ymmärretään usein väärin täällä Saksassa (Ilta-Sanomat) What’s wrong with this story? The headline offers us an answer to the latter question
Read on »Timo Soini Finland’s “Dracula” and Charlie Hebdo’s take on “true” and “false” Finns
It’s been a rough week for Euro-skeptic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Foreign Minister Timo Soini. The firs jab came on Saturday when Sir Graham Watson, the former chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (Alde) in the European Parliament, who said that Soini’s appointment as foreign minister was like having Dracula guarding a blood bank.
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to politician without memory
We saw a lot of white Finnish privilege during the April parliamentary elections and government talks, which include the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. If lowly things like turncoat politics and chicanery, racism and white Finnish privilege would have a smell, that stench would knock you off your feet right now. The new speaker of parliament,
Read on »Facebook: Hello new government, goodbye to the Finland we knew
So here are the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* ministers: Timo Soini (foreign minister), Jussi Niinistö (defense minister), Jari Lindström (labor and justice minister), and Hanna Mäntylä (social affairs and health minister). Two words can describe all four of them: anti-immigration and nationalistic. When you combine these two matters you get scapegoating, suspicion, “us” versus “them” to name
Read on »Facebook: Does “Finnish labor” include migrants, naturalized Finns and minorities?
One of the members of the new government, the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, said that jobs will be created for Finnish labor. In the present anti-immigration environment in Finland, such statements have a hostile ring to migrants, naturalized Finns and minorities since they don’t promote inclusion and fair hiring practices.
Read on »The violent and hostile language of Finnish populists against Others
For those that sighed with momentary relief and claimed that the new government’s immigration policy won’t be as bad as they expected haven’t seen anything yet. Behind the populist and nationalistic rhetoric coming from people like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini, there’s nothing but suspicion and hostility against Finland’s migrant and ever-culturally diverse community. What
Read on »UPDATE (May 15): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. May 15 Brittilehti: Kreikka, varo “karhumaista” Timo Soinia! (Ilta-Sanomat) What’s wrong with this story? The Finnish media has been criticized in the past for being toothless when
Read on »The new Finnish government’s immigration policy is a farce that will scare away new immigrants
One of the first reactions that some had concerning the immigration policy of the new government was that it wasn’t as bad as some expected. Others even went as far as to say that Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini caved in and showed again his true political turncoat colors. The question we should be asking
Read on »PS’ Timo Soini claims he’s “surprised” that not more immigrants want to move to Finland
Politicians sometimes say pretty incredible things. What do you think if the leader of Finland’s biggest anti-immigration party in parliament states that he’s surprised that not more immigrants move to Finland? And then the leader of this party, Timo Soini, puts the icing on the cake and is quoted on YLE in English as saying that Finland “is
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Soinin sirkus ja Mestarin lista
Reija Härkönen Maahanmuuttajavastainen islamofoobikko, vaaliehdokas Jussi Halla-aho julkaisi vaalien 2011 alla listan ehdokkaista, jotka olisivat riittävästi ”aatteen” miehiä ja naisia ja joita sopisi äänestää siellä, missä häntä itseään ei, vaikka kuinka haluaisi, pääse äänestämään. Useat listatuista olivat äärikansallismielisen Suomen Sisu- järjestön ja/tai Hommaforumin jäseniä. Nyt on aika tarkastella sitä, ketä tuolta listalta silloin pääsi läpi,
Read on »Timo Soini and the PS: “What goes around comes around”
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini has good acting skills and a poor memory. At a press conference Thursday he told us about the death threats he’s received. I know how he feels because I too have received such death threats possibly from people inspired by the PS’ populist and hateful ideology. Even if I’ve lived in
Read on »MEP Halla-aho wants a tougher PS stance on immigration
The popularity of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* plummeted to a record low of 13.3% in December and this has caused visible cracks in the party’s leadership. MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation, blames PS chairman Timo Soini’s too soft stand on immigration for the drop in popularity, according to Oulu-based daily Kaleva.
Read on »PS’ Timo Soini of Finland looks more like a wolf and less like a sheep as April elections near
With the help of one term, “cultural marxist,” Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini gave us the clearest-yet image of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Soini lashed out on his blog at the same-sex marriage lobby and particularly at Nasima Razmyar as “cultural marxists” after she compared the PS leader and Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen as “conservative Islamists” for opposing same-sex
Read on »The source of the 1.5 billion-euro-claim for “the cost of migration” is none other than the PS
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini, party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo and Matti Putkonen gave a press conference Friday where they claimed that “the cost of migration” and development aid totaled up to 2.7 billion euros. Migrant Tales wrote that when these figures were drawn out of a PS hat, not one reporter at the press conference asked
Read on »Finnish anti-immigration sound bites + near-silence of society = peril
Some soap operas are so sweet and melodramatic that they form cavities in your brain. In the same way, the message of anti-immigration and xenophobic parties is so outrageous that they leave a whole in your head. Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* which became Finland’s third-largest parliamentary bloc in 2011, are appealing to
Read on »Finland’s parliamentary elections of April 2015 have begun
Even if parliamentary elections will take place on April 19, 2015, it’s clear that they’ve begun. Rumbles can be already heard from political parties such as the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Muutos 2011 and the National Coalition Party, which are vying for media attention and voters. Who are they targeting? Who else but migrants and minorities. National Coalition Party
Read on »Perussuomalaiset of Finland: From bashing immigrants and the EU to “not selling one’s ass”
What is wrong with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)?* In order to score their historic election victory in 2011, they went on a rampage and bashed migrants wholesale, especially Muslims. Today, PS head Timo Soini said that the party has its principles and therefore “doesn’t sell its ass [to anyone].” Folks, the person making this statement is
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat poll shows the PS heading south
A poll published today by Helsingin Sanomat reveals that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is at its lowest point (15.9%) in two years. The most popular party in Finland continues to be the National Coalition Party (22.1%) followed by the Center Party (19.9%). The Social Democrats, which are still struggling, are in the mid-teens (14.9%) with
Read on »The political record and chicanery of the PS of Finland is what has estranged so many voters from politics
While some are still scratching their heads about the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* joining the European parliament’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group this week, it shows why so many voters have become estranged from politics. Read full story here. Before the historic 2011 parliamentary elections for the PS, when 39 of its MPs got elected
Read on »Financial Times: MEP Jussi Halla-aho racist track record leaves PS out in the cold
Success comes with a high political price especially if you base that success on spreading racism and prejudice. That is exactly the case of the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* who are hoping to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in Brussels but have been rejected by them because they see PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho as too racist,
Read on »Are politicians like Jussi Halla-aho and parties like the PS racist?
Jay Smooth offered in early March some good points on how to spot a racist by sticking to the that-sounded-racist conversation as opposed to they-are-racist conversation. The former conversation allows you to focus on what the person said and why what they said is unacceptable. The other one will take your focus away from the issue. Keeping
Read on »Miten maa joka on nähnyt niin paljon siirtolaisia ja pakolaisia voi suhtautua vihamielisesti heihin?
Timo Soini, tiesitkö, että Suomesta lähti yli 1,2 miljoona suomalaista siirtolaista 1860-1999 aikana? Tässä olivat myös pakolaiset. He jotka unohtavat tämän tärkeän faktaan unohtavat ketä me olemme. Miten maa joka on nähnyt niin paljon siirtolaisia ja on ottanut vastaan 420 000 karjalaista pakolaista voi suhtautuu torjuvasti ja jopa vihamielisesti siirtolaisiin ja pakolaisiin? Älä ratsasta maahanmuuttovastaisuudella.
Read on »How can you, Finland, loathe migrants and refugees if you were one?
How can a country like Finland, which saw over 1.2 million people emigrate during 1860-1999 and resettled 420,000 Karelian refugees after the Continuation War (1941-44) with the former Soviet Union, loathe migrants and speak contemptuously against refugees? How do you explain the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) that grew from a mere
Read on »Timo Soini’s latest comment about refugees leaves many speechless but exposes him to the raw
Sometimes politicians make incredible statements that leave you speechless. The latest one I heard was Thursday on a MEP election television debate on YLE Fem, the Swedish-language television channel. Said Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini: “Is it morally right to leave one’s homeland during ever-difficult times or should one stay put and fight for justice? Would it have been
Read on »Why do we consider Timo Soini to be “a good cop” if he brought all these “bad cops” to power?
Doesn’t Perussuomalaiset (PS) leader Timo Soini bear responsibility for giving people like Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Olli Immonen and a very long list of others a platform to spread their hatred and intolerance? Why does the media let Soini get off the hook so easily? Is Soini the culprit for anti-immigration sentiment and
Read on »Finnish tabloid media’s dubious “achievment” is spreading intolerance
The Finnish tabloid media has the dubious “honor” for having spread intolerance in Finland by giving populists and racists inflated respectability and importance. If we look at some of the billboards that tabloids published in the 1990s, it’s clear that they were responsible for spreading racism and prejudice in Finland. Take for instance the most
Read on »Anti-immigration populist parties are a menace to democracy, ethnic and cultural diversity
Migrant Tales has never hid its criticism of parties that base their message on populism, scapegoating minorities and nationalism. If such political parties ever got power, it’s doubtful that they’d know what to do with it except polarize our society more than before. Anti-immigration and nationalistic parties are masters at scapegoating because they are incompetent at doing
Read on »We can do it and send Halla-aho and the PS to where they came from
I still remember April 2011, when the anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam Perussuomalaiset (PS) party opened a gloomy chapter in Finland’s history by getting 39 MPs elected to parliament. The election was impressive to say the least considering that only 5 PS MPs got elected in 2007. Source: www.youthventure.org While some were surprised by the election
Read on »Is your attitude towards racism determined by your upbringing and where you grew up?
Some immigrants and visible minorities fight against intolerance their own way. Others, however, shy away from such a challenge by preferring to live in denial. Is the way you fight against intolerance dependent on what you learned at home and in your home country? If a white Russian learned to hate blacks and Muslims in his society,
Read on »Finland and Europe must not be lured into populism and xenophobia
Denials by party leaders like Timo Soini that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) isn’t a xenophobic party, and the meek response of Finland’s mainstream parties to such a threat, speak volumes of the present state of this country. Who helped the political careers of xenophobes like Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari and others? Soini and the PS. Why
Read on »The ogre of racism in Finland is learning how to wear a three-piece suit and tie
Matters appear to have changed after the April 2011 election, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS) rose from relative obscurity to become the third-largest party in parliament. The well-known scandals and publicized vicious attacks by the racists of the PS against immigrants and visible minorities appear to have changed their tune. Apart from the row that
Read on »Are Finns conservatives by nature?
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini was interviewed on YLE Saturday morning. Commenting on a recent opinion poll commissioned by YLE, Soini claimed that the good showing of the PS and Center Party proved that Finns are by nature conservatives. The YLE poll, which was published Friday, showed big gains by the opposition Center Party (23.8%)
Read on »PS MP Hakkarainen of Finland launches new attack against immigrants and Muslims
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who suggested two years ago that homosexuals, lesbians and Somalians should be relocated to the Åland Islands, has launched a fresh attack against immigrants and Muslims on a blog entry. Sensible people understand that generalizing about different groups, like Hakkarainen does, is not only wrong but racist. Migrant Tales strongly condemns
Read on »Death threats and the PS threat to our Nordic way of life
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, reveals in a recent blog that he got four death threats recently. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s Christian Democratic party received a bomb threat as well, which was reported by tabloid Iltalehti. The death threats are similar to what Swedish-language journalists received a while back. Migrant Tales has been a victim of
Read on »New PS party secretary Riikka Slunga Poutsalo “demands” tighter immigration policy
As Migrant Tales correctly pointed out, it didn’t take long for the new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, to show her far right anti-immigration credentials. Interviewed by YLE’s 8:30 pm news, Slunga-Poutsalo “demands” Finland should tighten immigration policy further. Migrant Tales wrote Saturday that one of the aims of the PS annual congress
Read on »The PS’ new Cadillac model of racism
How does intolerance and racism work in Finnish politics? How does it manifest itself today in anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)? A quote by U.S. civil rights leader Malcolm X (1925-65) provides us with a partial clue to these questions: “Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.” Is
Read on »Annual congress: The PS aims to become the biggest party in Finland with anti-EU and anti-immigration platform
The first day of Perussuomalaiset (PS) annual congress in Joensuu (July 29-30) did not produce any surprises but reinforced the party’s anti-immigration, and especially its anti-Islam and anti-cultural diversity stand. The party leadership, starting from Timo Soini to its new secretary, Riikka Slunga-Putsalo, confirm this. Soini, who was reelected chairman of the party by a
Read on »When Timo Soini and the PS cross the political point of no return
When do you know when Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaiset (PS) have crossed the line and passed a political point of no return? The 50,000-euro ad on the front page of Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest-circulation daily, blasting the government’s euro bailout policy is one of many examples. While more voters are turning their backs to the
Read on »Calling Timo Soini’s bluff
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) is a desperate party and Timo Soini’s claim over the weekend, that the Social Democrats had abandoned working-class men, is another example of how this populist anti-immigration party bluffs at the political poker table. The type of attack by Soini on the Social Democratic Party is in line with how the party
Read on »Councilman Mika Hiltunen gets sentenced for ethnic agitation but gets pat on the back by the PS
After Perussuomalaiset (PS) party Kontiolahti town councilman Mika Hiltunen was sentenced Tuesday by a court for ethnic agitation, we saw once again a familiar balancing by the PS: stating to moderates it doesn’t accept racism but at the same time assuring the extreme right that the party accepts racist outbursts by its members. We have
Read on »How ideologically alike is the PS with the UKIP and BNP?
The recent local election victory of the anti-EU and anti-immigration UKIP of Britain is a good example of what Finland experienced with the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) in April 2011. While the United Kingdom and Finland are vastly different countries, the knee-jerk reaction of the ruling parties to right-wing populism and rhetoric is strikingly
Read on »Maaseudun Tulevaisuus: Soini sees himself forming government after the 2015 elections
What are we to think and believe about Timo Soini’s opinion piece on Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, where he claims that the next government formed after the 2015 parliamentary elections will comprise of three major parties? Certainly Soini sees his party emerging as the victor and Finland’s next prime minister. Read Maaseudun Tulevaisuus news story on Timo
Read on »Of Birds and Feathers: The PS, the Sweden Democrats, and Their American Bedfellows
By Barachiel “Birds of a feather flock together.” I don’t know how or if this saying applies to personal relationships, but it is true in the world of politics. And though they undoubtedly hate to admit it, the populist parties of the Nordics and Europe are not exempt. The PS’ problematic relationship with Suomen Sisu
Read on »What Finland can learn from countries like the U.K. about racism
We can learn a lot from countries like the United Kingdom, where multiculturalism is an official social policy. Few won’t deny that the U.K. as well as other European countries don’t know what racism is if we look at their direct involvement in the slave trade and in the systematic genocide of indigenous peoples outside Europe.
Read on »Our response to intolerance in the EU and Finland must be first and foremost a response
Every great journey challenge begins with a single step. A Chinese proverb slightly changed A study by the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), reveals how racism and intolerant attitudes are becoming more prevalent in the European Union. What to do? Read ENAR study here. A recent example of how racism and intolerance spread roots in
Read on »Haglund continues to challenge Soini on his broken campaign promises on racism
The rift between Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini and Carl Haglund, head of the Swedish People’s Party, reveals an ongoing David and Goliath duel where Soini is showing his true autocratic colors. Haglund challenged Soini last week to an open debate on racism after the PS leader was grilled on HARDtalk about this festering issue. Soini
Read on »Swedish People’s Party chairman challenges (without luck) PS head Soini on racism
Migrant Tales raises its hat to Swedish People’s Party chairman, Carl Haglund, for challenging Perussuomalaiset (PS) Timo Soini on Helsingin Sanomat to an open debate about racism. Apart from immigrants and visible minorities, Finland’s Swedish-speaking population, which number about 291,000, has been under near-constant attack by the PS. It is unfortunate but understandable in today’s Finland that only
Read on »Finland, the PS and far right: How long before the chickens come home to roost?
I’ve lived and worked in countries like Colombia and Argentina during the dirty war (1976-83), where people were and still are killed for what they write. Never would I have imagined that I’d receive my first death threats twenty years ago in this country, Finland. The threats and harassment haven’t stopped. When I read
Read on »Timo Soini’s fast one: “Only one or two [racist] outbursts”
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, claimed on BBC’s HARDtalk that his party doesn’t have a strand of racism because there were only “one or two [racist] outbursts” in the past. Only one or two?! Try a long and disgraceful list of racist outbursts, criminal convictions and shameful denials Mr. Soini. The HARDtalk interview with Stephen
Read on »BBC’s HARDtalk grills Timo Soini on racism
Finally Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, has met his match Wednesday on the BBC’s HARDtalk. The Finnish media should take notes on how BBC journalist Stephen Sackur doesn’t let Soini off the hook when it comes to racism. In a short part of the interview, Saucker reveals Soini and the PS for what they are:
Read on »BBC’s HARDtalk: Soini defends decision to not sack Halla-aho
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, said on BBC’s HARDTalk that the five-year ordeal that lead to a Supreme Court ruling against PS MP Jussi Halla-aho for inciting ethnic hatred was enough punishment, according to YLE. Soini had promised previously to sack any member of the party if they were sentenced by a court for hate speech.
Read on »How far has the PS beachhead spread in twenty-two months?
Migrant Tales wrote the following day after the historic April 17, 2011 election had sent shock waves throughout Finland and Europe: “Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland.” Back then, our blog got got cited by Time Magazine. The above quote was a response to
Read on »Timo Soini and his pact with the devil
The cracks in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party are widening as the latest Kai Haavisto-James Hirvisaari scandal proves. The PS has reached a dead end with its present band of politicians. With the complicity of the near-silence of other parties, no other political group in modern Finnish times has created so much resentment and hatred towards
Read on »The Finnish media and their PS darling
Did anyone watch Thursday’s Pressiklubi show with Li Andersson of the Left Wing Alliance, Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini and Helsingin Sanomat politics and business editor, Marko Junkkari? Apart from Soini’s usual political blah-blah (sound colorful but don’t say anything), Junkkari’s comment about how the Finnish media saw the PS as their darling before the
Read on »Is Timo Soini losing his grip of the PS?
For those who haven’t noticed, Perussuomalaiset (PS) anti-immigration hardliners like MP Jussi Halla-aho and James Hirvisaari have tried to show their human side to the media. Halla-aho was recently interviewed with his wife Hilla on Me Naiset, while Hirvisaari writes on a blog entry hitherto-unheard empathy and understanding for his archenemy, the media. Some of Finland’s
Read on »Timo Soini on racism: See no evil, hear no evil
It is surprising how a politician like Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party can argue anything he wants on television about immigrants and visible minorities. His objection to positive discrimination on a debate on MTV3 Wednesday is a case in point. Migrant Tales has written in the past about colorblind racism, which is one of the most common
Read on »The PS campaigns for closed-door policy for refugees
I was surprised to read the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program on refugees. It states that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help these people is in refugee camps bordering their country. Finland holds municipal elections on October 28. The PS are expected to be one of the clear winners
Read on »Those who loathe you are your supporters
The biggest supporters of immigrants and visible minorities in Finland aren’t groups lobbying for their rights per se, but their enemies. Instead of tapping ourselves on the back for challenging a social ill like racism, we should thank Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini for exposing in this country bigotry and isolationism in the raw.
Read on »Monikulttuurisuudesta ja kulttuurirelativismista
Susannah Kulttuurirelativismi tarkoittaa , että esim. yksilön suhde lakiin ja moraaliin on suhteellista. Sellaisia syytöksiä esim. Jussi Halla-aho (ps) ja antijihadistinen seurakunta on syytänyt antirasistien niskaan. Sen mukaan antirasistit muka sallisivat toisenlaisia lakijärjestelmiä, kuten sharia, Suomeen. Eikö tässä valossa ole varsin koomista, että Halla-aho on kommentoinut omaa tuomiotaan korkeimmasta oikeudesta näin: http://mtv3.mobi/uutiset/uutiset/kotimaa/2012/06/1564528.xml?p=0 Puheenjohtaja Soini ei suostunut ottamaan
Read on »Pro-Soini Pirkko Mattila to chair administration committee of parliament
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s parliamentary group chose Tuesday Pirkko Mattila to be the new chairwoman of the administration committee after PS MP Jussi Halla-aho was forced to resign last week. The PS MP from the northern Finnish town of Muhos got 25 votes, clearly beating challengers Juho Eerola and Ismo Soukola, who got 5 votes apiece, according
Read on »Who are the PS’ powerbrokers: Suomen Sisu or Timo Soini?
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairperson Timo Soini’s silence after the Supreme Court announced that it would fine PS MP Jussi Halla-aho for defaming a religion and inciting ethnic hatred, speaks volumes about the power struggles in the right-wing populist party. Who are the PS’ powerbrokers today: the extremist Suomen Sisu wing led by Halla-aho, or
Read on »Another scandal is brewing thanks to the Perussuomalaiset
Another scandal involving the Perussuomalaisete (PS) party is brewing on the net after councilman Tommi Rautio and MP Teuvo Hakkarainen. At the eye of the political storm is Jani Viinikainen, a PS Pirkamaan region board member, who has now founded an anti-Roma Facebook page called Mannat kuriin (Let’s put Gypsies in line)!
Read on »PS red faces (again) after MP Hakkarainen's latest scandal
The latest scandal caused by none other than Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Teuvo Hakkarainen has caused agan a number of red faces in Timo Soini’s party. Hakkarainen was in such a drunken state, according to Nelonen, that he ended up at the premises of a Bandidos motorbike club and gave a prostitute 100 euros out of pity.
Read on »Wikileaks document warns of neo-Nazi (far-right) anti-immigration groups in Finland
A Wikileaks document reveals a disturbing perception that Migrant Tales has expressed concern: the threat of far-right anti-immigration groups in Finland like the Suomen Sisu faction in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. In the presidential election, all of the candidates except for PS’ Timo Soini, Sauli Niinstö of Kokoomus and Christian Democrat (KD) hopeful Sari Essayah, stated in an MTV3 poll that the far right does not pose a threat to Finland.
Read on »Timo Soini's little PS fish and big PS fishes
The PS councilman Tommi Rautio scandal, where he stated on Facebook that he’d decorate the Finn who killed a Moroccan native in cold blood at a pizzeria Oulu, is turning into a messy Breivik-type watershed for the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The concern raised by PS chairman Timo Soini, and how the Rautio scandal has already impacted the party’s popularity internally and externally, is clear in its new non-convincing get-tough stance on racism.
Read on »UPDATE: (Almost) no cliffhangers in today's presidential election in Finland except for one
With all of the votes counted, the presidential election went pretty much as the polls had predicted. Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö, the front-runner, won with37.0%. Second place was a head-and-head race, a semi-cliffhanger, with Pekka Haavisto of the Greens (18.8%) beating Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party (17.5%).
Read on »No cliffhangers in today presidential election in Finland
Finns go to the polls today vote elect their next president. Opinion polls reveal that Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö is the front-runner followed by a close neck-and-neck race between Pekka Haavisto of the Greens and Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party.
Read on »Christian Democrat candidate does not see Finland "more racist" than before
Christian Democrat presidential hopeful, Sari Essayah, was quoted as saying on Jyväskylä-based daily Keskisuomalainen that racism hasn’t increased in Finland and that the media is to blame for following what is written on the net on different anti-immigration forums.
Read on »Timo Soini: The beast behind the sugar-coated words
What does Perussuomalaiset (PS) party presidential hopeful, Timo Soini, really think about immigration and cultural diversity? A column he wrote in the latest Suomen Soini Presidentiksi [Soini for Finnish president] publication exposes what the leader of the PS thinks about such important issues.
Read on »Finland & Cultural Diversity 2011
In many respects 2011 was a watershed year for Finland and Europe concerning the rise of anti-immigration parties and xenophobia. The biggest news to hit Finland this year was without a doubt the April 17 election, which saw the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party win 39 seats compared with only 5 in 2007. On July 22 Anders Breivik gunned down most of his 77 victims in Norway.
Read on »A bitter taste of the PS’ idea of press freedom
I read with some dismay that 12 Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs have filed a complaint to the Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) about a cartoon that was published in the Helsinki Lutheran Church’s weekly Kirkko ja Kaupunki, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The cartoon showed PS chairman Timo Soini and a number of MPs wishing those who weren’t white, conservative and heterosexual Finns a shitty Christmas.
Read on »Finland’s PS Soini plays down racism in his party to “one, two or three” cases
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party presidential hopeful Timo Soini’s excuses about the issue of racism in his party and in Finland are getting more surreal every day. At a presidential debate Wednesday on MTV3, Soini played down racism in his party to “one, two or three” cases compared with a half a million people who voted for the PS in April.
Read on »PS MP Hirvisaari gets convicted for hate speech
Perussuomaliset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari was convicted Monday by a Kouvola court for incitement against an ethnic group, according to Helsingin Sanomat in English. He got off the hook last year in November when a court in Päijät-Häme acquitted him of the same crime. Hirvisaari says that he will appeal the latest decision in a higher court.
Read on »Finland also locks up asylum seeker children
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- A child in the Joutseno Immigration Removal Center.
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