Please welcome Teuvo Hakkarainen

The True Finns have a new man of the people, who's been busy making waves all over the news, and it's only his third day! Teuvo Hakkarainen, a newly elected lumberjack cum MP from Keski-Suomi constituency is anything but ok.

Dressed to impress, first day in office

His first day in office he was trailed by the Helsingin Sanomat, and they recorded and subsequently released a video, which I just found some kind soul has even subtitled in English! Enjoy.

Showing up to parliament looking hung over in a crumpled suit and the loosest tie, rambling incoherently about "nig**rs" was only the beginning, though. For most Finnish middle-aged men it would probably mean a short trip to the local police station, but getting elected does have its few perks. His comments prompted a Finnish footballer with immigrant backround to threaten to kick his ass the next time he sees him, and Hakkarainen swiftly made  a personal apology. You might be interested as to why such a colourful person gets elected and the reason appears to be: his name was the first in the True Finn list of candidates in his constituency.

Then it came to light that Haka-Wood, the lumber yard he owns received €461,750 of support from the European Union's development fund. He has on his internet pages previously described the European Union as a "system of slavery" and "economic bondage" and is reportedly very much against bailing out countries like Portugal and Greece who don't pull their own weight. His lumber yard is also several hundreds of thousands into the red for a few years now, and has suspiciously caught fire several times in recent years. Six times to be precise. Gosh I hope he was insured...

I wish Teuvo Hakkarainen a very productive four years in parliament, and I sincerely hope that he proves to be every bit as colourful as his first three days lead me to expect.