Finland’s politics have become increasingly polarized following the 2023 parliamentary elections. Tapio Launio With divisions between Finnish political parties in Europe now evident, this year’s European Parliament election campaign could be more lively than usual, he writes.
This article is part of a series on the 2024 European Parliament elections. The EUROPP blog will also co-host a panel discussion on the LSE elections on 6 June.
Voter turnout in European Parliament elections held in Finland during the first two decades of the 21st centurycastle The century was just over 40%. Five years ago, in 2019, the turnout was 42.7% (40.8% if you include citizens not residing in Finland), almost 10 percentage points lower than the EU-wide voter turnout.
But there are at least moderate reasons for optimism ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections. Finnish voters may be suffering from election fatigue after the parliamentary elections in April 2023 and the presidential election in early 2024, but the more polarized party-political climate has certainly led to heated debates. Since Finnish political parties disagree on the future direction of European integration, there are also genuine ideological alternatives available to voters. Moreover, most political parties have fielded notable candidates.
Polarized domestic landscape
Finnish politics has certainly become more active recently. The right wing won the April 2023 general election, and the government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, a coalition of the National Coalition, Finland Party, Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats, was described as follows: The most right-wing figure in Finnish history. The government aims to drastically cut public sector funding and weaken the influence of trade unions. A variety of anti-government activities took place, from large-scale strikes to public demonstrations and sit-in protests on university campuses.
As polarization between the political left and right deepened, the atmosphere became tense. David Arter called this union an “unhappy marriage,” and Orpo himself called it a “marriage of convenience.” The ruling parties disagree on many issues, including Europe.
This discrepancy is reflected in the government program, which on the one hand asserts that “the European Union is Finland’s most important political and economic frame of reference and community of values,” and on the other hand states that “the EU’s own resource system should not be developed in Finland.” I’m doing it. “This could lead to additional relative costs for Finland” and “the government will not support additional financing or the introduction of completely new EU-level funding instruments,” it said. Referring to the Next Generation EU Deal, the program further clarifies that “the recovery measures were an exceptional one-off solution that should not set a precedent.” Finland will not accept repeating similar agreements or making them permanent.”
Finnish politics also differ when it comes to security policy. Putin’s war in Ukraine has had a dramatic impact on Finland’s security policy, with Finland applying to join NATO in May 2022 and joining the Defense Alliance in April 2023. ParliamentA unicameral national legislature, and this agreement also applies to the EU’s role on security issues, basically all Finnish political parties share the view that effective European level action is needed to contain the Russian threat.
Left-Right Divide Against Deeper Integration
From the beginning of EU accession in 1995 until the early 2010s, the party-political consensus on Finnish integration was relatively broad. Above all, Finnish policymakers emphasized the importance of constructive participation in EU governance and strong supranational institutions. However, the euro crisis and 2011 Parliament The elections, in which the Finland Party achieved groundbreaking results, marked at least a partial turning point in Finland’s European policy.
In particular, opinions are divided within and between parties on the future of fiscal integration and climate policy, as exemplified by the highly politicized EU Nature Restoration Act. A left-right split emerged, with left-wing parties more supportive of deeper economic integration and stronger European-level environmental protection measures.
A few weeks ago, the Social Democrats announced their support for an EU investment fund to prevent competition through state aid within the EU. This could be funded by new EU taxes. Interestingly, the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK), Finland’s largest employer association and often closely linked to the national federation, also supports this new EU document.
Previously, the Left Alliance was very critical of the EU’s economic governance system, but it now places greater emphasis on the EU’s potential for job creation, climate policy and protecting democratic values. The Green League stands out for its federalist policies. The EU supports increasing the EU’s budget and taxation powers and applying qualified majority voting in the Council across all issues, seeing it above all as a tool for pursuing ambitious green transition policies.
The centre-right National Coalition has stressed the importance of the euro and the single market, but is divided around a next-generation EU and opposes new EU-level measures to increase common fiscal responsibility under the government’s programme. The same goes for the current opposition party, the Center Party. The Center Party’s European election program balances the economic and security interests of EU member states with opposition to deepening integration. The Swedish People’s Party is still committed to closer unity, but must toe the line of the Orpo government.
The Finland Party has never officially called for Finland to leave the EU or the eurozone and has focused on anti-immigration policies in recent years. Nonetheless, the party is opposed to devolution of powers to the European level and its leaders have not hesitated to publicly criticize the EU. The EU policy of the Christian Democrats has been more pragmatic depending on whether they are in power, but they are also opposed to deeper integration.
High-profile candidate
It is not self-evident that such party-political differences receive media attention. The entire country forms one constituency, and citizens vote for individual candidates who are not pre-ranked by political parties. Candidates for the 15 seats therefore have a strong incentive to highlight their personal qualities and issue priorities. Party leaders have therefore often stayed in the background in previous European Parliament elections, leaving the campaigning to their candidates.
The National Coalition has been on a recent winning streak and won both competitions last year. Parliament The presidential election and presidential election held earlier this year. Low voter turnout has traditionally favored the Conservatives, and the party could win four seats instead of the three it currently holds.
Leading candidates include lawmakers Sirpa Pietikäinen and Henna Virkkunen, the latter of whom is also mentioned as Finland’s potential new member (unofficial rules state that the prime minister’s party has the right to choose members). Mika Altola, director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), who declared his candidacy after running as an independent candidate in the presidential election based on a populist and anti-establishment platform, was also included in the list. I am running in the European Parliament elections.
The Finnish party currently holds two seats, and its candidate team includes Sebastian Tynkkinen, who has been convicted three times of racial incitement, and Vilhelm Junnila, who was forced to resign from his ministerial post last summer after just a month. It is led by several senior party figures, including ). To his far-right ties and Nazi jokes.
The Christian Democrats formed an electoral alliance with Movement Now. Parliament), and the party hopes to return to the European Parliament, where it was represented in 1999-2003 and 2009-2014. The main candidate is Eija-Riitta Korhola, who previously served as an MEP for both the incumbent party and the National Coalition.
The Swedish People’s Party could retain its single seat with a strong list that includes Eva Biaudet and Anna-Maja Henriksson, who will resign as party president at the party’s congress to be held a week after the European Parliament elections. The Center Party is hoping to renew both seats, with its campaign most likely centered around criticism of EU interference in forestry policy. Among the candidates are former party chairwoman Katri Kulmuni, former minister Petri Honkonen and former minister Mika Lintilä.
The left-wing Social Democrats are currently the largest party in opinion polls and are hoping to win a third seat. MEP Eero Heinäluoma, a former party chairman and a very popular figure within the party, is leading a team of candidates that also includes several high-profile lawmakers. The Green League performed well in the last European Parliament elections and has a strong list, but retaining its three seats may be difficult. Among the candidates are former party chairpersons Ville Niinistö and Maria Ihosalo, who are now members of parliament, but longtime lawmaker Heidi Hautala is not seeking re-election.
The Left Alliance is likely to retain its sole seat, especially since Lee Andersson, who will step down as party chairman in the fall, took first place. Anderson has led her party since 2016, and she could be an important vote-puller who could appeal to left-liberal voters.
Overall, these elections are unlikely to lead to further changes in the distribution of parliamentary seats among Finland’s political parties. But the campaign could raise surface tensions within and between the cabinet parties, which could add clearly visible tensions to the Orfo government. Nevertheless, I hope the discussion will focus on European issues. And I hope that party leaders will be able to clearly state their party’s position instead of leaving the campaigning to individual candidates.
Note: This article gives the views of the author and not the position of EUROPP (European Politics and Policy) or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: European Union
