Finnish nationalists threaten EU bailouts after poll gains

Finland’s nationalist True Finns party yesterday threatened to block EU bailouts after surging to a surprisingly strong position in weekend polls that sent parliament lurching to the right.

The once-tiny populist party catapulted to third place in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, hot on the heels of poll winner the conservative National Coalition and runner-up leftist Social Democrats.

The True Finns’ dazzling rise from being the Nordic country’s smallest parliamentary party to the political big league has sent shockwaves through the European Union, fearful the party will prove a stumbling block to Finland’s approval of a bailout to debt-ravaged Portugal.

Despite some signs the party might be willing to compromise, the True Finns’ charismatic leader Timo Soini made it clear the party credited its anti-EU message for its strong showing.

“This was a referendum on EU policy,” he told public broadcaster YLE yesterday.

“Our money should not go to ineffective mechanisms... we will keep our money and our right to make our own decisions,” added Mr Soini, considered the true winner of the weekend vote after leading his party to win 39 seats, up from just six in the last Parliament.

His comments came as European and IMF officials were preparing to start tough talks with Portugal on the scale and modalities of a bailout, and as news of the party’s surge caused the euro to slump against the dollar and the Japanese yen.

“The True Finns would throw a wrench into the works of EU bailouts and stability mechanisms,” Tampere University political analyst Ilkka Ruostetsaari said.

While observers in the media and top parties agreed the True Finns would need to be offered a place in government, it remained unclear yesterday if they would join a coalition set to be led by Sunday’s election winner, the pro-EU National Coalition.

However, the influx of True Finn lawmakers will definitely send parliament lurching to the right, something that alone could have implications for Finland’s EU policies.

Unlike other EU states, the Finnish Parliament and not just the government votes on approving loan guarantees to EU member states in crisis.

The party now holds less than a fifth of parliament, but the second-place SDP also campaigned on a more euro-sceptic platform, which could lend weight to bailout opposition.

“Elsewhere in Europe, they may have to think about how they will proceed with bailouts if Finland won’t support them,” analyst Ruostetsaari cautioned.

By late yesterday however, both Mr Soini and National Coalition leader Jyrki Katainen, who will likely be the next Finnish Prime Minister, were showing signs of softening positions as the probable need to cooperate became clear.