Although with less charisma and certainly much lower attention, There is a government in Finland that has found its model in Margaret Thatcher. A coalition of the right and the extreme right that, as soon as he came to power, implemented drastic cuts of public spending, especially in health, at the same time that he reduced taxes to the richest. With the excuse from thatcher To balance the country’s budget, the Finnish Executive, according to Amnesty International, strive to address severe austerity measures that, surprise, have now encountered the rejection of the majority of the population. In the recent municipal and regional elections on April 13, raised almost as a referendum for cuts, The Government lost, mainly to the collapse of the extreme right.
The ultra -right of the Finnish party, almost 7% of the votes were left compared to 2021. The Social Democratic Party of the former Minister Sanna Marin, became the most voted party with its best result in two decades, with 5.3% more, and the left -wing alliance increased its votes by 1.3% exceeding the extreme right and the green ones and the green ones. Meanwhile, the right of the current prime minister, Petteri Orpo, left at 1.2% in the regional ones although, yes, he won half a point in the municipal. The extreme right, in the end, is the one that most noticed the collapse after having presented in recent years as True defender of workers whose rights now ravage with their budget policies. The leader of the Finnish party, Riikka Purra, is the Minister of Economy.
In JacobinLi Andersson, Eurodiputada of a leftist alliance that achieved a historical result in the last European elections, explained the result of the April elections: “We are no longer really a model country model. Finland is a place where we have really seen what cooperation between the right and the extreme right means. They have imposed historical social security and health cuts and have applied a series of highly criticized labor market reforms. […] If we look at the rest of Europe, these matches are still allowed to present themselves simply as the voice of the people. But here we can really see what they do when they are in power. People have felt the impact of their policies. And it is simply that seasoned with racism. “
According to the Finnish public media Ylethe Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare has warned of a Increased poverty rate in 1.7 points in the country due to government policies. Some 100,000 more people in poverty, especially unemployed people and students. This year, Amnesty International made a report to examine the impact of austerity measures on the right to decent housing. According to the organization, systematic and generalized austerity measures, aimed at social security, social services and support for the creation of affordable homes, “have stopped decades of exceptional success in the reduction of withouthogarism.” The number of homeless people, alert Amnesty, “is increasing for the first time in more than a decade, as well as other inappropriate housing indicators: evictions, overload of the cost of housing and the need for housing -related services.” They also warn that while “A growing number of people lives in precarious housing conditions”what the government does is plan “new austerity measures.”
Austerity policies are also added, as usual in governments participated by the extreme right, Very restrictive norms with migration. The Finnish executive wants to prohibit the rejection of immigrants from third countries that arrive in Finland through Russia. Amnesty International, again, warns of the breach of human rights. “This law – has pointed out Dinushika Dissanayake, deputy regional director of AI for Europe – seriously undermines asylum and protection against return in Finland. Not only endangers the rights of people seeking security, but also leads to arbitrariness and border violence.” The rule “should never have approved.” “It is incompatible with the newly approved EU regulations on crisis and force majeure. It goes beyond all powers granted by EU legislation and we hope that the European Commission rigorously examines its legality,” they have asked from Amnesty.
That of progressive and happier paradise in the world, two definitions that have always been granted to Finland beyond their borders, it is no longer so. Perhaps the best example is what Mike Watson wrote a while at The Guardian. At the end of 2024, after moving to the country. “I moved to Finland believing that it was a progressive dream. It has not been so”he summed up. Watson even stressed that 25% of students have difficulty buying food. Yes, in Finland. In, after local and regional elections, Watson was more hopeful. In their opinion, these results can point to a “beginning of spring throughout Europe.” At least, Finland demonstrates “that the cuts to social assistance and public spending are popular until they affect voters” and “that progressive policies attract voters tired of austerity.”
We must take into account, despite everything, that in the local and regional elections fewer people participate than in some generals. , in which the extreme right also fell against the advance of the left. But, in the same way, the Finnish ultra -right is also falling into the surveys in the face of elections that are planned by 2027. Meanwhile, meanwhile They have already found a culprit to explain their decline: the media.
