http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...f-collapse-eurosceptic-true-finns-party-split
Finland government on brink of collapse as eurosceptics split over nationalist row
FINLAND's government is on the brink of collapse as coalition partners split amid a row over a new hardline leader.
By
Sofia Petkar
PUBLISHED: 21:50, Fri, Jun 16, 2017 | UPDATED: 22:05, Fri, Jun 16, 2017
Jussi Halla-aho's election has been met with outrage in Parliament
The nationalist True Finns party split into two just days after the election of its new leader threatened the future of the coalition.
Around twenty lawmakers, who make up almost half of the True Finns’ members in Parliament - left the party, recreating themselves as the “New Alternative” group.
The split between hardliners and more moderate members of the nationalists was the latest in a series of blows to Europe's anti-establishment parties.
On Sunday, France's National Front and Italy's 5-Star Movement failed in attempts to win legislative and civic elections.
Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who had said he would break up his three-party coalition over the new Finns leaders, said he was ready to continue with the new group.
Mr Sipila was on his way to hand over his resignation to President Sauli Niinisto when the split was announced, making a U-turn rush back.
The New Alternative's newly former party members include Foreign Minister Timo Soini, who stepped down at the weekend after almost 20 years as the True Finns’ leader.
Timo Soini stepped down at the weekend
In his place, the party voted in Jussi Halla-aho as leader of Finland’s third-largest party - sounding the death knell for the country’s coalition.
His election was met with outrage from other party leaders, who said they would not be able to work with a man previously convicted of hate speech.
Mr Halla-aho is well known for his divisive views and anti-immigration stance.
Finland's government was thrown into chaos on Saturday when the True Finns Party, previously the second-biggest parliamentary group, chose Mr Halla-aho as its new leader and immediately replaced three deputy leaders with anti-immigrant hardliners in a surprising shift to the right.
They will now be left out of government with 17 MPs, including two who have said they will quit.
Simon Elo, chairman of the New Alternative group, said: "This decision will likely ruin our political careers...but we are determined to do this...for the right reasons. Today we are not politicians, but we are doing this for the fatherland's sake."
The current situation stands in stark contrast to the optimism that prevailed after the elections in April 2015, when the True Finns secured 18 per cent of the vote, and the decision was made to exercise power rather than act in opposition on the sidelines.
Prime Minister Juha Sipila with Finance Minister Petteri Orpo
With New Alternative, the coalition - including Mr Sipila's Centre Party and pro-EU National Coalition Party (NCP) - would have 106 of the parliament's 200 seats.
True Finns was founded in 1995 after the demise of agrarian populist party SMP, rising from obscurity with an anti-EU platform during the euro zone debt crisis, and expanding into the second-biggest parliamentary party in 2015 election.
But after joining the government, its support dropped due to compromises in the coalition, increasing calls from the party grass root for tougher policy line.
The newly-elected party leader Mr Halla-aho had said he wants Finland to leave the European Union. In 2012 he was fined by Finland's Supreme Court in 2012 for comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft.
Speaking to reporters at the party office on his third day as party chairman, Mr Halla-aho said he was disappointed by the split.
He said: "It is hard to believe that this sort of operation and betrayal of voters would happen... I could've not expected such a broad movement."
Ja parit kommentit:
Less than a minute ago
johsom
"In 2012 he was fined by Finland's Supreme Court in 2012 for comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft."
So he was branded for hate speech for telling the TRUTH. Just because he is anti-immigration does NOT make him a racist, guilty of hate speech or any other nonsense the authorities want to make up to persecute him because his views are different to the theirs.
This is just more persecution of innocent people who love their Country, it's DISGUSTING and will only drive people towards
3 hours ago
DavidWallis
So the truth is spoken and therefore you must be a racist. A nationalistic voice will likely be anti-immigration so you must be a iracist. I want to keep and protect our national identity - racist. I want my children to grow up in an environment that truly reflects our culture and way of life - racist. I want to preserve our languge, schools and heritage - racist. I want my country to be independent and leave the EU - racist. I just want our welfare system to help our own people, the elderly, the sick and the disabled - racist.
What you need to do is to open the flood gates and let in all the foreign riff raff so it can become cheap labour, congregate in ghettos and breed like rabbits - patriot
