Most of True Finn members racist, study finds

According to an opinion poll published in Helsingin Sanomat, a majority True Finn supporters agree with the following statement:

"People of certain races are unsuited for life in a modern society."

Another opinion poll by Taloustutkimus published in Iltalehti found that 72% of True Finn supporters want Finland to stay in the Eurozone, and a similar percentage want them to remain in the European Union.

Timo Soini, Leader of the True Finns, looking awkward

So what are we to make of this? Clearly the eurosceptic aspect of the True Finn party is greatly exaggerated. It seems to not be the major driving force behind the party. We can certainly draw some conclusions about the motivations of the "Immigration Critical" wing of the party, led by blogger and popular racist Jussi Halla-aho.

The President of Finland, Tarja Halonen commented on the findings of the poll by saying that racist people "seem to be drawn towards voting for the True Finns." MP Jussi Halla-aho was quick to point out on his blog that "Friends of GDR seem to be drawn towards voting for Tarja Halonen." President Halonen, a Social Democrat, has been elected President twice after previously serving in three ministerial posts and consistently gets an approval rating in excess of 80%, while MP Halla-aho has an illustrious two year career in the board of directors for Helsinki Zoo.

Leader of the True Finn party, Timo Soini has thus far declined to comment, saying that opinion polls are not a good gauge of opinion and re-iterating his previous stance of not personally being racist. For someone non-racist he certainly likes to actively seek out the company of racists. He also leads an organisation that plainly caters to racists and does not mind benefiting from racists voting for his party. One can assume that either he is lying about not being racist or (more likely) he is morally corrupt to the point of having no guiding principles in his political life and will seize on to any idea no matter how abhorrent if it gets his party a few extra votes. Does it make him any different from other politicians? Maybe not. Call me an idealist but surely the point of leading a political party vanishes if the program of the party consists only of an attempt to get as many votes as possible.

True Finn MP's assistant in a neo-nazi row

Looks like the parliamentary assistant to True Finn MP Juha Eerola has applied to become a member of the neo-nazi group Finnish National Resistance Front. Assistant and apparently then city council member Ulla Pyysalo's application, leaked by hackers, goes as follows (translation from migrant tales):

I am a city council member of the Perussuomalaiset party and I understand your ideology. You have my support!!!…After you hear what we (Perussuomalaiset?) have planned, (you’ll see that) we are both fighting for the same thing…I sent you my contact information. Please do not distribute it if you are fighting for the fatherland.

Pyysalo has since said, she will resign her membership in the True Finn party, after she finds another job. The True Finn party is currently considering suspending her from the duties of a parliamentary assistant. That's nice.

Ulla Pyysalo, looking like a less classy Johanna Tukiainen

The word neo-nazi is sometimes used rather frivolously, but the National Resistance Front has conveniently declared itself to be a National Socialist revolutionary movement. Pyysalo claims she did not in fact realise that national socialists are the same thing as nazis, was drunk as she applied to join the group, it was a youthful error and she did so because she is quote a patriotic person unquote. Being unaware of recent history, current events and basic politics is basically a requisite of membership for the True Finns, so let's just give her the benefit of doubt for now. Youthful error is a bit amusing since the webpage where she applied has only existed for two years. Pyysalo has previously made herself known by cracking unrepeatable jokes about Jani Toivola (a black, gay finnish MP) and posing with an assault rifle on Facebook.

MP Jussi Halla-aho's racist webforum Homma has of course reacted by thinking this was all perfectly understandable, that Pyysalo was actually an upstanding person and that this was all media's fault for reporting it. In other words, exactly as they react to every other far-right lunatic ever.

Study: True Finns condone violence

According to an international study into extremist groups, some True Finn members condone political violence. This is part of a Europe-wide study on the rise of populist sentiment and seems to be a far-reaching phenomenon. The study mentions specifically internet sites which condone hatred and promote violence, without mention of blogger and popular racist Jussi Halla-aho's webforum Homma. Shockingly, the study was conducted after the Oslo massacre in which a radical racist targeted leftist politicians, leaving 77 dead.

Matti Putkonen, rapist, violent criminal, True Finn campaign manager

The study was swiftly condemned by the True Finns' campaign manager, Matti Putkonen. Putkonen is of course remembered as a violent criminal, having been convicted of aggravated rape to an eight-month custodial sentence. He also had to pay a €10,000 fine, presumably to cover medical harm. Speaking at a live radio show, Putkonen called for the female chief of staff at the Ministry of Interior who published the study to resign, and said that the True Finn party does not condone violence. Thankfully, things did not escalate further this time as mr Putkonen was safely at the other end of the telephone line.

Matti Putkonen, rapist and habitual political opportunist is probably the best example of the True Finn hypocrisy when it comes to their value base. Former member of the Social Democratic party, former media rep for a labour union, Putkonen grabbed at the chance to jump ship just as soon as the polls showed a double-figure rise in support for the True Finn party. In a civilised society he would be on some kind of a registry already, and barred from holding a political office.

True Finn MP plays the Nazi card

You all might remember the quote "Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun." It's frequently misattributed to Hermann Goering, but it actually comes from a pro-nazi play called Schlageter. People usually quote this to point out the brutality and violence of the national socialist regime, well normal people do that. True Finn MP Jussi Niinistö whom I've blogged about before apparently uses the phrase completely without irony.

Jussi Niinistö, you can't see his hands but they're reaching for his gun

Helsingin Sanomat reported that in a parliamentary session this Tuesday, Jussi Niinistö said he is a strong proponent of expanded presidential powers, and that "whenever I hear the word parliamentarism, I reach for my gun". Let's just re-iterate that this quote is frequently raised as an example of the despicable brutality of the nazi regime, it's certainly not a phrase that is in common use in Finland and would probably be in itself enough to send you to prison in Germany. Needless to say, this caused quite a bit of a scene in the session, and probably will haunt mr Niinistö for months to come.

Timo Soini takes a stand against fearmongering

The leader of the anti-European True Finn party Timo Soini has commented on what he calls "unnecessary fearmongering" concerning the Finnish government's plans for demanding collateral for the Greek government loan. Giving his full support to the government policy, the pudgy populist said he sees "no way" for the Greek government to pay off its €110 billion loan. His solution for the European soveireign debt crisis is simple: someone else, hopefully Germany, should take care of it.

Timo Soini

Timo Soini has recently called on the government to abandon the support for Greece entirely, citing German resistance to the Finnish-Greek collateral deal as an "ideal opportunity to say No thank you, we're out." On his uusisuomi blog, Soini also suggested that a permanent bailout mechanism would in fact create a system for supporting French and German banks using taxpayer money from other countries.

This kind of lack of any solution is proof positive that the True Finns did the absolute right thing when they didn't form a coalition government with National Coalition party this year. As an opposition party they can do what they do best: kick up dust and claim you can succesfully ignore problems until they go away. It's no wonder the True Finns are currently the most popular party among the ignorant many. Oh well, they have proven time and again that they are all bark and no bite, and if they manage to topple Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen's government we are in for endless entertainment. This won't be the issue that does it, however.

True Finns changes its official English name

Helsingin Sanomat reported today the True Finn party has now adopted "The Finns" as their official English name. True Finn leader Timo Soini is reportedly tired of having to re-translate his party name for foreign media to avoid being associated with nationalist extremism. Soini also likes "The Finns" because it is short and simple and even ordinary people his supporters will know how to write it.

Timo Soini, leader of the Finns

Ok well, first of all if you want to avoid sounding nationalist "The Finns" is probably not the best idea for a name. I imagine if there was such a thing as "The English Party", it would get lots of skinhead members really fast. Secondly, this would probably cause all manner of difficulty for reporters worldwide as they will presumably have to report the Finnish parliamentary opposition as consisting of "The Finns" and also the Centre party. Yeah, if I was a real journalist I would in all likelihood stick with True Finns. True Finns will do for this blog.

True Finn parliamentary aide turns out to be a violent criminal

Mikael Lith, a parliamentary aide for the True Finn MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala is evidently a violent criminal with a penchant for abusing women he's in a relationship with. In 2009 Lith got sentenced to €300 fine as well as paying €1300 in damages to his then-girlfriend. According to contemporary sources, Lith beat his girlfriend with his fists, dragged her by the hair and kicked her while she was laying on the ground. He then tried to pressure her into not talking to the police, which got him sentenced for intimidation as well as assault. What a class act.

fun fact: this is the only picture that exists of Mikael Lith

In 2005 Lith was arrested brandishing a replica firearm outside the Russian embassy. His excuse is he was drunk, and a friend was egging him on. Makes one proud to be Finnish. Here even the most violent, unpredictable and all around odious people are given a second chance, in the True Finn party.

Lith identifies himself as a critic of immigration, and a supporter of traditional Christian family values. Spare the rod, spoil the girlfriend, I suppose.

Social democrats, left alliance walk away from coalition cabinet negotiations

Jyrki Katainen's negotiations to form a coalition cabinet took a step backward with the Social Democratic party and the Left alliance walking out of negotiations over disputes with economic policy. This leaves Katainen with the job of persuading the former prime minister Kiviniemi's Centre party to take part in the cabinet, and even that gives the new coalition a slim 105 out of 200 seats majority.

Centre party is remembered for being the undisputed greatest loser of the Finnish 2011 parliamentary election, losing a whopping 16 seats and going from the most popular party to the fourth most popular one. They have stated from election night onwards that they would not take part in any coalition cabinet, and that they would consider taking part in one an insult to Finnish parliamentary democracy. Looks like Jukka Tarkka may have been right after all, when he said he considered a new election a real possibility.

Jussi Halla-aho to be sentenced in Supreme Court

It was reported today in Ilta-Sanomat, that blogger and popular racist, True Finn MP Jussi Halla-aho is to attend supreme court facing charges of racial incitement. Halla-aho was already previously convicted of incitement against religion by both the hovrätt and tingsrätt.

Jussi Halla-aho, really mad at being called a racist

So rather than pay a day fine of 30 days, which is a paltry €330, Jussi Halla-aho has opted for a long and unnecessary process the cost of which for the Finnish taxpayer will inevitably reach five figures at least. Need I remind you that this person is a member of an outright neo-nazi gang, and is known to spout all manner of racist tripe in his blog. This is a joke, a complete mockery of the already-overburdened Finnish judicial system. Apparently after receiving an entirely free education, and succesfully dodging military service with no consequence whatsoever, €330 is just too much to give back to Finnish society. What a pitiful man.

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.

Halla-Aho's list of recommended candidates, a sign of things to come

In several recent comments about Halla-Aho and his list of candidates, some revelations have been made recently. It seems obvious that the person writing them has had some unusual insight into the inner workings of the True Finn party so I figured why not translate them here. Here goes.

It has been suspected for a long time that angry, far right young men are infiltrating, and indeed have been for several years, the True Finn party through its youth organisation etc. The idea is to capture an old, established party for their own use instead of trying to form one from scratch. They would establish the anti-immigration policies they want, make their way into parliament and finally get rid of the old, Finnish Rural Party veterans. Entryism is a viable tactic proven in history many times over.

I have been calculating that the change of generation would fall on the True Finns after the parliamentary elections as Soini begins to prepare for stepping down as party head, and the newcomers have established secure positions in parliament, preferrably even in cabinet.

It has also been obvious that Soini is worried about the neo-True Finns at his back, and their intentions. Soini has tried to belittle the Hommaforum cadre as a small group of anoraks and boffins, and is obviously uncomfortable when they are brought up in public.

27th March Soini published in his "plok" a list of his favorite parliamentary election candidates, certainly in the hope of leaving the True Finn party into their safe hands, after moving on to other things. The names on Soini's list are Pekka M. Sinisalo, Osmo Kokko, Pirkko Mattila, Ari Jalonen, Anneli Manninen, Ville Vähämäki and Marke Tuominen.

The competing list from our low profile challenger, Jussi Halla-Aho: James Hirvisaari (member of Suomen Sisu, stood court for racial incitement), Juho Eerola (member of Suomen Sisu), Olli Immonen (member of Suomen Sisu), Heikki Luoto ("Multiculturalism is as desirable as shit in a fan"), Ari Jalonen, Teemu Lahtinen (Suomen Sisu's former chairman), Johannes Nieminen (Suomen Sisu's former chairman, famous for re-publishing the Muhammad drawings), Pasi Salonen (opposed to hate crime legislation because thinks its discriminatory towards White Heterosexual Males and too lenient on gays and foreigners), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, Maria Lohela and Jarmo Juntunen (filthy rich member of entrepreneurial justice league, convicted of insurance fraud, several traffic violations and wiretapping the police department ; engaged in a massive private war against the Finland justice system on behalf of the Wincapita pyramid scheme). A question arises; if Halla-Aho is not a neo-nazi or not even racist, why does his list contain mostly racist people associated with neo-nazi groups?

summary: this, but somehow even more gay

People on Soini's list are almost completely unknown to people. Not one of them even has an entry on the Finnish language Wikipedia. Halla-Aho's list is more known and wikified. It is obvious to anyone that Halla-Aho's list is going to dominate over the Soini list in the elections.

The internal power struggle in the True Finn party has begun well before the April parliamentary elections. By any reasonable yardstick you would care to use, Halla-Aho has Soini in a choke hold. He has his opportunity, and no matter what you think about him as a person he is not stupid enough to forego taking it.

Soini lied about Sandvik's health, but why?

Turns out Timo Soini actually lied on live TV about True Finn party secretary Ossi Sandvik's health problems, Helsingin Sanomat reports. Instead of doing the honest thing and telling people Sandvik's broken a toe, mr Soini went on live television and told people lies about why his party secretary would not attend. Perhaps it is because a broken toe is not really a major health problem, and wouldn't stop any normal person from attending a TV debate. Perhaps it's because mr Soini has become a habitual liar, and needs to maintain an air of invincibility in even minor things like this?

Timo Soini, holding up the True Finns' economic program during debate

This is a fairly major thing,  because it raises the possibility that the True Finns have an incompetent party secretary. He's been avoiding meetings with other party secretaries, the aim of which was to discuss the inflammatory rhetoric of the True Finns and establish guidelines for behavior during the last weeks of election campaigning. It seems brutally obvious that Soini's gang thinks they can operate outside the boundaries of both the established Finnish political culture and good taste.

Ossi Sandvik was named as the True Finn party secretary in 2007. He's a carpenter by trade, and previously a gas station manager. He's also worked as an assistant for the True Finn MP, Raimo Vistbacka. Hardly a glorious CV, but according to Soini the party "needed a full time party secretary", and this was apparently the only person they could find.

True Finns entire party in disarray as popularity in downfall

The True Finns poll ratings continue their downwards death spiral, and at the top of the party chaos reigns. The party secretary Ossi Sandvik has gone AWOL, and stood Timo Soini up at an important election debate last night. Soini claimed this was due to the True Finns wanting to brighten their anti-woman image by having the only True Finn woman in parliament, Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner appear in the debate instead of mr Sandvik. When asked where Sandvik was, Soini said "Somewhere in Ostrobothnia." The invitation clearly stated however that the debate was for party chairmen and secretaries only, so a very tired-looking Timo Soini was reduced to spout the same familiar slogans for half an hour on live TV, looking very lonely.

Meanwhile "Somewhere in Ostrobothnia"

Timo Soini is reportedly so spooked about the prospect of mr Sandvik or other forces within the True Finn party splitting away from the party that he has made all the True Finn candidates swear a personal oath of loyalty to him. Perhaps the next step is locking himself up into an underground bunker with his truest believers? We can only hope.

The poll ratings keep on falling, despite True Finn candidates continuing to send quasi-illegal campaign material into people's houses. The Early voting activity remained roughly the same compared to previous elections for the second day, still showing no signs of the massive tsunami of new True Finn voters.

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.

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!