The Finnish Ku Klux Klan impersonator was really Timo Soini’s and the Perussuomalaiset’s ogre

Enrique Tessieri photoshop Hamid Alsaameere

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.”

The historic victory of the populist party in 2011 was only possible thanks to its anti-immigration and Islamophobic message. Without polarizing “them” against “us” the PS wouldn’t exist or would be a very small party today.

But thanks to Soini’s leadership he has given a voice to racist politicians like the late Tony Halme, Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Laura Huhtasaari, Juho Eerola and many others like Olli Immonen.

The person who was dressed like a Ku Klux Klan member was a 19-year-old man from the region of Päijäthäme but I disagree. He was Timo Soini’s and his populist anti-immigration party’s ogre.

Soini should know that racism is like an angry rabid dog. Xenophobic politicians like him walk these dogs on short leashes. The dog attracts a lot of attention but it’s unpredictable because it can bite its owner, and hard.

We saw that in Norway four years ago when Anders Breivik murdered 77 people and last Friday in Lahti when a Ku Klux Klan impersonator appeared and his picture was top news in many newspapers around the globe.

Racism is an unpredictable ogre that always surprises you.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.

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