If you don't happen to closely follow Finnish politics, I'll give you a brief run-down on the current political climate...
Parliament elections took place the weekend I arrived in Helsinki. You might remember the Swedish-speaking Finnish men's choir I met on the way. They were nervously checking their phones all night as the votes trickled in, and the reactions were not positive. The ultra-conservative "True Finns" party gained 35 seats, a huge increase from the three they already had. I don't have a complete picture of their agenda; but I've gathered bits and pieces of public opinion from conversations with people I've met here. It seems that I've been meeting the most liberal Finns around, however, because no one I've met has been a True Finn sympathizer. (Although one guy said he was embarrassed to admit that his dad voted for them.)
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| Timo Soini, leader of the True Finns |
