Comment: It is quite odd if not surreal that Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Jussi Halla-aho was voted in April to chair the administration committee, whose responsibilities include among other matters immigration policy. While Halla-aho should have never been voted as chairman of that parliamentary committee for his radical views on Islam and cultural diversity, why the outcry now by parties like the Social Democrats?
Granted, nobody had heard of Anders Behring Breivik back then nor was it known that the Norwegian mass killer’s victims were going to be mostly Labor Party adolescents. Supposedly Halla-aho’s provocative writings against multiculturalism, Islam and Social Democratic Party were unknown or worse not taken seriously by the majority of Finnish MPs.
One positive sign that we are seeing today in Finland after Norway is a cold awakening to the reality of a social ill like racism. Extremism and racism does not only attack immigrants and minorities but can target white natives as well.
What will the political fallout be to the PS in a post-22/7 Finland? Will cornering Halla-aho and his Counter-Jihadist followers erode PS head Timo Soini’s power base in the party?
What do Finnish voters think about such radical views taking an ever-prominent role in the PS?
The months ahead and next year’s presidential and municipal elections will reveal that answer to us.
Here is a roundup (in Finnish) on Jälkijättöistä Jupinaa of Halla-aho’s views in previous blog entries and how he plays down his role in the Counter-Jihad movement.
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Jussi Halla-aho, a critic of immigration and multiculturalism, is facing pressure to stand down as chair of parliament’s Administration committee in the wake of the Norwegian terror attacks. The Administration Committee deals with matters that include immigration policy and gun legislation.
“The months ahead and next year’s presidential and municipal elections will reveal that answer to us”
Before the last election with Halla-ahos court case his writings where is the public and there was numerous attempts to try and discredit PS as promoting “Racism” and being “xenophobic” as a way to try and halt them . Yet they still became the biggest winners in that election doing a lot better than most people even expected them to do.
Of course not every one who stood for election for PS was doing so because they had anti immigration views but if you look at those who support Halla ahos view on the subject who won seats to show there is a healthy support not only for that issue but also and most importantly not a rejection from voters of the choice of candidates who represent those views.
People have enough understanding on what PS views on immigration are and there is nothing being kept secret from them, so I can not understand why people would think PS views have changed and become more extreme when they are no different from those pre election.People are not stupid they can tell the difference from having a view and someone else own interpretation of that same view and that those are not the same but separate from one another
Regarding Hallo-aho the majority of committee members have already said they do not see why he should leave his position which I think shows that they don’t see any justifiable reason why he should be removed. So once again I think you are letting your imagination run away with you when you believe that this will be the end of PS as the majority of Finns and PMs will rise against them, because at the moment the signs do not look that way
Of course In the next elections to come we will see how what has happened in Norway if it will effect PS and their votes, but by that time with all the events in the world and possible ones to come outside of Norway what happened will be forgotten by then. People like a fresh tragedy they can attach their emotions to .So would the next opinion poll of who would vote for what party be a better test than the elections which none are to take place this year
If the majority do not see a political party which has a critical view on immigration and the likes of Anders as not the same thing. Then if that majority do not reject the “Politics of hate” then support for populist parties may increase even more.Because theses people can use political parties like those to show others that they support sensible debate on immigration and do not support a more extreme violent approach (Have you thought about that)