Nyland election debate: Soini gets destroyed once again

Those watching the Nyland election debate last night to see Soini fail yet again were not disappointed. When the issues of the European financial fund got brought up, Soini overstated the amount of loans from Finland to Greece by €85 million. Too bad for Soini, foreign minister Alexander Stubb(pbuh) and Social Democrat party secretary Mikael Jungner were also present, and proceeded to annihilate their opponent with well-researched facts and statistics.

One of these does not belong (hint: the one in the middle)

"It's so easy for you to shoot from the hip, Timo. Nowhere else in Europe are people forced to endure discussion on this level" said Stubb. And so say we all.

Timo Haapala on Soini's costly slip-up

Another piece of frankly brilliant blogging from Timo Haapala, our man from Arcadia hill. Take a gander:

In three weeks we know where we stand.

Or rather, we know where to begin. Begin to form a new ruling coalition, that is.

Three weeks seem to be the limit of Soini's sense of direction and speed, and accordingly he finally slipped up. Big time. 

Soini has raged everywhere that he and his party will always and everywhere vote against opting into the EU's financial fund and financial instruments, be they temporary or permanent. If Soini is to decide, not a cent will be given as collateral by Finland.

Unless.

Yes, unless we agree that Soini will be in the ruling coalition but will still maintain a right for his party to vote against the bailout funds. Soini has always been at the throat of the Green Coalition, who have remained despite their own program in a coalition that authorised the building permits for two new nuclear plants. The Green Coalition voted freely against their coalition partners, and now Soini said in an interview with YLE (Finnish Broadcast Company) that he wants the same deal for his party.

The difference is huge however; the EU rescue funds are to do with the entire basis of the future coalition's economic policy, as well as their EU-policy. Soini wants to sit both in the government and the opposition at the same time, two chairs at the same time. A normal person would tear themselves apart trying a feat like that.

Soini wants to pick and choose which parts of actually being in the ruling coalition suit him. It does not work that way.

No wonder then that the other parties made a noise about Soini's brainfart. If you are in the ruling coalition, you are part of the ruling coalition. You are sitting in the back of a ministerial automobile, not out and about in the towns and markets, cracking crude jokes about the gov't decisions amongst your prospective voters. Would be nice though, but it just doesn't work that way.

A few have suspected that Soini is aiming to purposely set the bar of cooperation in a coalition so high, he will have another election cycle of cozy shouting from the opposition sidelines and no actual responsibility.

Soini's talk of the EU financial instrument reveal it's not that; it's more that he speaks whatever comes to his mind. Constantly putting his foot in his mouth.

In the same caste are Soini's lesser (depending on your circumstances) stances on issues like abortion and religion. Soini says he doesn't have to justify, or indeed even express his view on abortion because "other politicians are not asked such things". Yes you need to answer those, yes they are asked and indeed have been asked. And are being asked, especially now. "This is just the way it is" is not enough for a politician who seriously considers himself a contender for the next Prime Minister.

Four years ago, before the last election, Soini kept repeating the figure 10 to 12 MPs as a suitable goal for the True Finns. If they got more than that, Soini thought there would be 'too many contesting leaders' in the party. 

Well, remains to be seen if they can handle even one leader.

The True Finns' campaign manifesto and especially the art discussion therein has been criticised. Soini has proceeded to explain that it is in fact a wittily placed joke in their manifesto, expertly designed to provoke the cultural elite. You're having a laugh. A person with less of a sense of humour, such as myself would ask from Soini which exactly are the jokey part in the campaign manifesto and which are the serious ones. Would it be possible for the True Finns to produce a campaign manifesto with the joke bits in italics and the serious bits bolded? 

Or maybe the entire thing is a big joke?

x x x x x x x x

The decisions concerning the EU financial instrument and the bailout funds, which need to be made before next summer's EU summit will definitely affect Finland. A worthy task even for the Social Democrats, if they get into the coalition government and have to be involved in the negotiations. A permanent crisis fund seems to be easier to swallow for each party, as it delegates some of the responsibility to the banks. 

In all likeliness the people will be totally clueless about not only the temporary ERVV and permanent EVM/ESM financial instruments and the collaterals required et cetera. Even then.

Which is no wonder. Politicians are too, MPs and those wanting to be MPs.

This Monday A-Studio asked of the candidates and MPs what they know of the EU financial instruments. Nearly everyone - even current MPs! - were completely baffled by the concept, even though the media has been inundated with information about the subject for months on end and the parliament has used hundreds of hours speaking about them. It is no wonder that the citizenry does not know which parties are in the governing coalition, if the ruling political class is operating at this level.

In Europe it is being debated why Finland of all countries has become an eurosceptic nation just before the elections. 

In Finland the concept of Impivaara is being raised.

Who knows which is right and which is wrong.

One needs to remember though, speaking of Impivaara, that the seven brothers came back from Impivaara through snow and ice, in the biting cold when it caught on fire. This story is related in Seven Brothers by Aleksis Kivi. MPs and those wanting to be MPs would do well to read it after finding out for themselves what the EU financial instruments are all about. Who knows if a citizen might ask it in one of the squares and markets...

True Finn supporters attempt to lynch an Indian immigrant

Iltalehti reports. Social Democratic party candidate Ranbir Sodhi's campaigning in Myyrmäki, Vantaa had an unexpected and unnerving disruption last Saturday, when a group of True Finn supporters engaged in racist heckling.

Ranbir Sodhi says Finland needs new immigrants, due to increasingly elderly population

"It all started when they asked me my opinion of the European Union. I said the EU is a good thing, and that you should not abandon a friend in need," Sodhi says.

The men, displaying True Finn campaign colours said mr Sodhi needs to go back to his country to politicise.

"This is my country. I love Finland," Sodhi said.

Things came to a head when Sodhi, who runs the Stadin Tähti restaurant in Helsinki offered one of the men a job, after the man said he was unemployed and opposed to the Greece bailout.

"I said I need a cleaner in my restaurant. He said not to underestimate him. 'On the contrary', I said. I've lived in Finland for 23 years and started out as a dishwasher, even though I have a masters in Business Administration" Sodhi says. "At that point he started screaming and asked me to step outside to see who is who. I said sure, bring it on, but he left the scene."

True Finns' economic wizard indebted, living in an Ice Rink

Markku Uusipaavalniemi, the Olympic curler who also happens to be the True Finns' go-to guy when it comes to economic questions is currently in bad shape. Having divorced his wife in 2009, he has since been forced to move into an incomplete Ice Rink he built in Oulunkylä, Helsinki. He has been unwilling to comment on the move, deciding instead to comment "only on matters of economy". This he usually does with what sound like quotes from the hit conspiracy film Zeitgeist, rambling incoherently against 'fractional reserve bankin' and proposing the EU solve all its money problems by printing more. Seriously.

You wouldn't know any of this by looking at his home page though, since it seems to still state he is happily married and a member of the Centre Party. Bless.

You can't help but be reminded of the twilight years of the Finnish Rural Party, way back in 1995 when Timo Soini was the party secretary and they too went insolvent. The party's finances were a complete mess, and among other irregularities the party was found to have owed its own newspaper around four million euroes.Well, rather than solve any of these financial issues, Soini and other party leaders decided instead to declare bankruptcy, and founded a new party on the ruins, called the True Finns. Problem solved!

A third of True Finn voters are, well, not actually voters

It was revealed today by the newspaper Keskisuomalainen that only two thirds of those identifying asTrue Finn voters bothered to vote in the parliamentary elections of 2006. Additionally, only 14% of the current generation of True Finn voters are those who actually voted TF in 2006.

It is a well known fact in Finnish politics that the working-class voter is a finicky creature, whose turnout is dependent on among other things the weather and if they recently got paid. Those who get paid the same week as the election, tend to vote more conservatively than those who didn't. Add to this the fact the TF candidates are by and large local council members with as little as two years of experience from governance, and next to no name recognition and the True Finn's 18% poll rating may well dip under the 10% mark.

Soini gets humiliated again, this time by a 15 year old girl

I have good news to report for a change! A question from a 9th grade girl from Kirkkonummi got True Finn leader Timo Soini embarrassed, reported Iltalehti today. She succeeded doing what many a leader from the much maligned old parties has tried and almost as many have failed.

Oona Riipinen asked "why should a girl who has been raped not be allowed to get an abortion?"

"I refuse to answer that. No other politicians get asked questions like these", was Soini's reply. (Here's a hint: it's because no other politician shares your crazy anti-woman opinions.)

Timo Soini, an artist's conception

Riipinen remained unsatisfied with Soini's reply. She, like Soini is a Roman Catholic, and is insulted that her religion is being used as a political tool. Riipinen, who is due to start secondary education next autumn, does not support abortion per se but would allow it in cases of rape or if the parents are unable to physically or mentally take care of the child. If she were able to vote, she would most likely vote for the Green Coalition.

Political activity for young people has declined very sharply in Finland. According to the youth barometer by the Ministry of Education, over a fifth of young people are "not at all interested" in politics. Riipinen is therefore a special case in that she follows the news and keeps informed. She considers the True Finns' goals unrealistic and finds the rise of the anti-immigration party "scary". Of Timo Soini in particular she says he has not understood the difference between religion and politics.

JSN decision concerning Suomen Sisu

Recently I've been getting feedback about calling people Nazi for quote unquote no reason at all. People have even implied that my writings might constitute grounds to sue. There exists however a 2008 decision by the Finnish Journalistic Ethics board JSN, concering Teemu Lahtinen and Jussi Halla-Aho's Nazi club Suomen Sisu.You can find it from this here link.

For those of you who are less than familiar with legal Finnish, the decision is based on a complaint by Suomen Sisu to a magazine which claimed they are a neo-nazi group. The paper was found by board to have been in the right, as the group Suomen Sisu was under investigation from National Bureau of Investigation as one of the two named neo-nazi groups in the Helsinki area. Completely by coincidence 3 years later both mr. Halla-Aho and Lahtinen are running for MP for the same party, the True Finns. Jussi Halla-Aho is a candidate from the Helsinki constituency and he is considered a likely future MP. Teemu Lahtinen was at the time of the JSN decision the vice chairman of this neo-nazi organisation. He is a candidate in the neighboring constituency of Uusimaa.

There you see an actual legal precedent that allows me to call Halla-Aho and Lahtinen and all the other members of their little clique nazis. No reason to threaten me with law suits anymore.

Jussi Halla-Aho grows Hitler moustache

Blogger and popular racist Jussi Halla-Aho published a new advertisement in yesterday's City-magazine. If you look carefully, he appears to have grown a wee little toothbrush moustache.

It's evidently not a mistake, he actually went and gave his ok to this advertisement. He says he hopes to make people pause and reflect on how the "mass media is controlling them." The text in the advertisement encourages people to vote "just for the f**k of it." My guess is he finally lost his mind and now actually thinks he is Hitler.

3 out of 10 Finns know who actually is in the Finnish gov't

Helsingin Sanomat and various other news sites reported a TNS Gallup poll today which found that only 31% of Finns know which parties are in the Finnish governmental coalition. This was especially the case for the opposition Social Democratic party which a full third thought was a part of the gov't coalition.

The study found that young people under 25, and True Finn voters in particular have the lowest level of knowledge. Half of people under 25 thought the Green Coalition is outwith the gov't, and a third thought the True Finns were in the governing coalition (lol what). Out of Left Alliance voters nearly half thought the Social Democrats were a part of the governing coalition. Just another argument for raising the voting age to 30.

"These figures illustrate the realisation of the various parties' policies drawing nearer to each other," says Tommi Uschanov, a politics researcher. Congratulations Finland you deserve the True Finns. You've earned them 100%.

YLE election start: Soini humiliated in public

In the YLE election start special, the leaders of current parliamentary parties were present and in good humor. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the shooting star of the recent polls, Timo Soini. Soini, sweating and red, drinking lots of water (hung over?) was wearing a blue shirt two inches too small and looked uncomfortable throughout.

Questions started off rather softball'ish, with Soini scoring lots of easy points with answers like "we have lots of good candidates, in every electoral district" and "my favorite color is black on white and red". When the time came for him to comment on an actual issue he didn't fail to fail miserably. His answer consisted of confusedly comparing the Greece bailout to "a baseball cap fitted on a melon, then an apple", which prompted every single panelist and host to call him out on not actually answering the question. He then tried to clarify his stance by saying "they will run out of bananas and liquorice sooner or later" and this my friends, is a man with a Masters' degree from a University I kid you not.

The easiest comeback of the night was from the Green Alliance leader Sinnemäki, who said she didn't understand what melons and baseball caps have to do with the issue at hand, getting a few laughs from the audience. Soini, embarrassed, stayed mostly quiet for the rest of the debate rather than rattling off slogan after slogan as per usual. Other good points came in form of the quotable "responsibility is a career choice", from National Coalition's Jyrki Katainen, and "only a healthy county can take care of its sick" from Social Democrat Urpilainen.

True Finns now the second largest party in Finland, TNS Gallup

According to the pollster JNS Gallup for Helsingin Sanomat last thursday, the True Finns are the second most popular party at 18,4% after National Coalition. This is due to the Finnish people wanting change to the horrible conditions that the Finns are currently suffering.

Matti "Rape Rape" Putkonen was quick to comment that this is no mere poll blip, in spite of 4 most popular parties' support fitting inside the margin of error, but instead a bona fide tsunami of support, wreaking havoc to the Finnish political scene well into the future. "Our candidates are extremely committed to foot work and are campaigning as their true selves."

Seriously Finland if you do this, I'm going to stay in the UK for the next four years.

Timo Soini: there will be 'nasty' revelations

Soini interviewed in the middle of an alcoholic burn-out

Timo Soini: "People have been digging up dirt about us not like any other party. You can see it for instance with the way people have been discussing the True Finns' election platform."

Soini expects a dirty election fight in the coming weeks. Soini expects all kinds of negative material to emerge concerning TF-candidates. He readily admits election finances have been affecting other parties, but considers the timing to be especially harmful to his party. Soini is disinclined to comment on the revelations concerning local disputes or individual candidates.

Soini's personal health and probable alcoholism has been discussed intensely, following his absence from several election debates. He says he has been in the European parliament at the time of the debates and angrily points out that people would likely raise a noise about him missing those sessions, too. He says no other party leaders' health has been discussed (false) and that he is put into a negative context, notably avoiding to confront his problem directly.

Marko Kulmala: what its all about

 A great blog post about the True Finns by Marko Kulmala I've been meaning to post since two weeks ago.

http://blogit.mtv3.fi/kuinraivoaanestaja/2011/02/28/mista-on-kyse/

Media has loved Timo Soini, because media thinks Timo Soini speaks his mind. This has been believed by the media, because Timo Soini has said he speaks his mind.

"Paddle the water that's under the canoe." Was Soini,s answer to a question asking what a critic of the European Union is doing as a member of the European Parliament. No follow-up questions were asked.

The True Finns published their election manifesto this Friday. For the first time I saw a bemused Timo Soini, in an interview by the YLE news.

"It is not possible to calculate these figures in a concrete way." This is an entirely new, understandable Soinism. He said the soon-to-become fourth largest party simply lacks know-how.

It seemed to be possible for the True Finns however, to suggest concrete cuts and reductions in budget, even outside the sphere of political influence. Soini complained about the lack of the same access to political tools that the "old parties" have, because they were not given access. There is no information about their proposed budget because it was not given to them. How so? Do they not have the proposed government budget in use? It is available to anyone and contains all the necessary numbers and figures. Do they not have a calculator? Or do they simply lack knowledge?

The True Finns have five MPs. They have exactly the same access to parliamentary information services as MPs from other parties. Knowledge is available and accessible. Lots of it. The True Finns may ask for advice from economic scientists if there are numbers they don't understand - other parties do this. They have either not asked for help or tried to gain knowledge. This is called ignorance and laziness. Laziness and ignorance are not a viable alternative.

Speaking of phenomenae, and the True Finns' poll success is really phenomenal, it is always good to ask the question: who benefits from it? The media does, media loves dramatic elections. If there is no drama to be found, it will be created. Therefore for example Timo Soini gets special treatment from the media: as the only party leader he gets asked no follow-up questions. The media only waits for the next clever quip.

I have been thinking, if the True Finns are to rise to become the second largest party in parliament, how are they going to fill ministerial seats? They have two people who can work as ministers now. Who would they seat as the speaker of parliament? Veltto Virtanen?

I understand well Timo Soini's bemusement. Any old Opel-driver will panic if they suddenly find themselves at the wheel of a Ferrari. You can't even engage the reverse without outside help.

Suomen Sisu library of recommended reading, revealed

You might remember lots of people running for parliament as True Finns have been, or still are, members of the fascist organisation Suomen Sisu. Teemu Lahtinen and Jussi Halla-Aho to name just a couple. This is a "library of recommended reading for nationalists" which was on their web page until they got a bit too much media attention. Well, now that they're not getting enough media attention, here is the library for your perusal. I'm sure you'll find its all perfectly reasonable civilising stuff, and not at all an ominously pro-nazi pile of right wing garbage.

PHILOSOPHY
Johdatus 1900-luvun ajatteluun Pentti Linkola
Antichrist Friedrich Nietzsche
Twilight of the Idols Friedrich Nietzsche
Also Sprach Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche
Prince Machiavelli
The art of war Sun Tzu
On War Carl von Clausewitz

KEYS TO THE NORTHERN SOUL
Faith and Action Helmut Stellrecht
The reorganization of Europe on a racial and territorial basis Werner Daitz
The Lightning and The Sun Savitri Devi
Kalevala trad.
Kanteletar trad.
Beowulf trad.
Edda / Hávamál trad.
Nibelungenlied trad.
Kalevipoeg trad.
Karhunkaataja trad.
Towards a New Europe Alfred Rosenberg
Hopeanvalkea Lennart Meri
Ragnarök Villy Sørensen

HISTORY
Viimeistä piirtoa myöten Vihtori Kosola
E.Simojoki - Legenda jo eläessään Sakari Virkkunen
Suomalaisia soturikohtaloita Jussi Niinistö
Sinimusta veljeskunta Mikko Uola
Ryssän vihassa - Elmo Kaila Martti Ahti
Dissecting the Holocaust Ernst Gauss
The Communist Manifesto Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

POLITICS AND SOCIETY
My Awakening David Duke
The Political Soldier Derek Holland
When Corporations Rule the World David C. Korten
The Origins of Virtue Matt Ridley
Paved With Good Intentions Jared Taylor

ON TAXONOMIC DIFFERENCES OF THE HUMAN RACES
The Bell Curve Richard J. Herrnstein & Charles Murray
Why Race Matters Michael Levin
The G-Factor Arthur R. Jensen
Race John Baker
The Beak of the Finch Jonathan Weiner
Entry of genes into social science Ahmavaara & Vanhanen
IQ and the Wealth of Nations Lynn & Vanhanen

ENTERTAINMENT
Pääkallokehrääjä Ilkka Remes
Karjalan lunnaat Ilkka Remes
Ruttokellot Ilkka Remes
Starship Troopers Robert Heinlein

CLASSICS
Utopia Thomas More
1984(sic) George Orwell
Animal Farm George Orwell

Timo Soini on Financial Times

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55eaf350-4a8b-11e0-82ab-00144feab49a.html

"Even among Brussels’ tightly-knit cadre of European Union operatives, Timo Soini is not particularly well known. Heavy-set with bushy eyebrows and a bulbous nose, he seems more likely to walk out of the grounds of Millwall – the London football team whose scarf he religiously wears in Belgium’s grey winter – than the glass and steel of the European parliament, where he is a member from Finland."

"WHAT A LEGEND!" I'm sorry to say but the Financial Times should do their research a bit better, and maybe point out what an odious man Timo Soini actually is, and the kind of company he keeps. His primary activity in Brussels has been meeting with the worst of the European anti-semite, lunatic racist fringe for inspiration. He has converted a former agrarian populist party into a slick European far-right machine, with all the nasty things that comes with being a member of the slick European far-right. He's not just a carnivalistic comical figure the Financial Times makes him out to be, but has instead become a very tangible threat to the Finnish political establishment, which really needs stability and experience first and foremost, rather than the populism offered by Soini and his ilk.

True Finns ultimate reverse culture troll

Looks like the True Finns' clever polemic about what true Finnish culture is just took down one of their own. Sirkka-Liisa Lamminkoski, professional art therapist, who is in the party's ruling council and one of their candidates for the parliament, got a rude awakening after daring to say politicians are not supposed to decide what is considered art. Evidently a party bigwig, Raimo Malin notified her that she has "until 6PM to resign her gun and badge party membership" 

Finland, this is your future

This from a party that prided itself on being composed of rugged individualists and that shuns the "old parties" party lines and group discipline. Admittedly, Raimo Malin is just one of the ruling council members of the TF-party, and not representative of the whole. But the silence from Timo Soini considering this bullying and intimidation is deafening. Ordnung muss sein..

True Finns use expenses for election campaign, chaos reigns

Looks like the South-Uusimaa True Finns have been using money from their political aides' salary to boost their election budget. Other monies from thus far unspecified sources have also been used for the same purpose, and deposited on the South-Uusimaa TF bank account. These are the same hypocrites who have made an electoral promise out of cutting these very expenses. Looks like the net is tightening around the criminals, but will it be too late to affect the general election? Only time will tell.

True Finns admit trolling the entire population

Apparently Timo Soini and his merry men always knew their program with its references to degenerate art and such would cause a stir. You might even call them puppetmasters, having this succesfully baited all the old parties into opposing a fascist policy that doesn't address any of Finland's current problems.

Problems, Finland?

Imagine this person as a Prime Minister, or a Foreign Minister. Fart jokes and funny faces galore, may as well slap Angela Merkel on the ass while he's at it.

Let's speculate on the new Finnish gov't

Imagine a Finland where instead of career politicians you will have people like the True Finns in government. They are such a marginal party that that has made such huge gains they will inevitably resort to putting some of their larger vote share-getters from the provinces into government. We will have a government with two years experience from local politics deciding the course of the nation, and there is nothing we can do about it.

I miss the days when the True Finns were the kind of party that would put Sulo Aittoniemi, a "sheriff" up as a presidential candidate. A humour candidate for a humour party, getting humour votes from people who like to turn up and have a laugh on election day. People who take "rotestilaulu" from Simo Salminen ironically seriously.

Irwin Goodman

There's a real tradition of a ne'er-do-well protester right up from Irwin Goodman to Paleface in Finland and it is a good tradition. A noble tradition, really. A tradition of someone who says it like it is and isn't afraid of the "crooks" and the "cons" in government. But really, in a country such as Finland it was never more than a stereotype. You cannot have a country that ranks the lowest on the corruption index, while having this supposed huge need for a person to call out all these corrupt politicians. You cannot have one of the most developed welfare states in the world while supposedly having a state committed to screwing the average joe sixpack out of their fair share. It is just not possible.

True Finns budget

True Finns are going to cut or so they say:

• €200 million from support to entrepreneurs
• €200 million from foreign aid
• €200 million from EU-membership fees with the UK specially singled out to give Finland €70 million
• An unspecified amount will be saved from rejecting refugees, reducing the YLE's swedish language programming and withdrawing troops from international crisis management
• A likewise unspecified amount will be cut from political parties' and press allocations
• An unspecified amount will be cut from "bureaucracy"

Of course Finland can not actually force UK to give 70 million euros, in fact the membership fees are decided on a multinational level and Finland can not unilaterally stop paying them. Finland can also not refuse to take in refugees from impoverished countries because this is decided on a UN level. In fact the Finnish government is not even in charge of the YLE, which has its own leadership board independent from the parliament and certainly outwith their control. So unless the UN, European Union and a multitude of other actors decide to collude willingly with a party that hates them, this is just another example of the unrealistic "solutions" the True Finn party is known for proposing.