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| Europe |
| In Finland, EU critic is gaining a following |
| 2006-04-25 |
| Timo Soini, Finland's most outspoken EU skeptic, recently considered protesting plans by the government to ratify the European Union's moribund constitution by drop-kicking it down the stairs of Parliament or immersing the 300-page document in a pile of fish. In the end he decided against any such display, on the grounds that it would be too "un- Finnish." "In some countries, people throw fish on the streets to show their discontent," he said in an interview at his office, which is dominated by a campaign poster from his presidential campaign. "In Finland," he said, "we eat fish." While pouring fish on the sidewalk may not go down well in this famously orderly country of five million, Soini's campaign against the EU has gained him a growing following. In the presidential elections in January, he surprised the political establishment by winning nearly 3.4 percent of the vote - coming in fifth among eight candidates, including the sitting prime minister and president. Analysts say his popularity reflected an intensifying backlash against the EU in Finland, a country that has been among the most pro-EU states since joining in 1995 and that is the only Nordic country using the euro, the EU's single currency. "The days when Finns thought the EU could do no wrong are over," said Alexander Stubb, a member of the European Parliament and one of Finland's most ardent EU proponents. A recent poll by Eva, a research institute here, found that the percentage of Finns favoring the EU fell to 33 percent in January 2005, a drop of 11 percentage points from the previous January. Two- thirds of the respondents said the costs of the EU outweighed its benefits. Another poll, by Eurobarometer, indicated that 51 percent of Finns had negative feelings about the EU, with the difficulty of understanding what the bloc actually does cited among the greatest problems. With Finland poised to take over the EU's rotating presidency in July, such skepticism comes at an awkward time. As the 25-member bloc's cheerleader in chief, Finland will have the task of reinvigorating the Union during a period of doubt about its expansion and growing economic nationalism on the Continent. This could prove difficult given the growing EU skepticism here. The doubts fit into a Europe-wide trend: Since the rejection of the EU constitution by voters in France and the Netherlands, Europeans have grown increasingly wary of a liberalizing EU, which has become an easy target for angst about everything from joblessness to immigration. Political observers here say the increasingly frosty attitude toward the EU in Finland is noteworthy because the geographically isolated country - once part of Sweden and a reluctant partner with Moscow during the Cold War - is not part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization and has traditionally viewed the EU as a vital link to the West and guarantor of its security. "Finland always wants to be the best pupil in the EU class," said Mikko Majander, a Finnish historian. "But Finns are beginning to ask themselves: Why should we go to such efforts, when big countries can't seem to bother?" Soini, who likes to deliver speeches standing on a crate with a megaphone, leads a populist rural party named True Finns. He attributes the growing EU skepticism to the Union's recent expansion into a bloc of 460 million people where a small country like Finland risks being drowned out. Still, he says the EU's further expansion has an attractive side: He believes it will make the bloc so unmanageable that it will self-destruct. "It may be good if the EU gets so big that it can no longer function - it will be like a rat with its hypothalamus removed, who keeps eating until it explodes," he said, using the kind of colorful analogy that has made him popular with some voters. Soini argues that the Finnish political establishment is blindly pro-European. As proof, he cites the government's push to ratify the EU's draft constitution in Parliament, even though two of the EU's founding countries have rejected it. "It is like wanting to display a dead elephant at the zoo," he said. Stubb retorts that ratifying the constitution will give Finland added credibility during its presidency. A self-described "Hairikko" - "hellraiser" in Finnish - Soini is a far- right economic liberal and social conservative who grew up near Helsinki. A former student leader and fervent anti-communist during his student days, he converted to Catholicism in the 1980s and considered becoming a priest. He says that this has informed his feelings toward the EU. "The EU structure is very Catholic," he said. "The commission president behaves like an unelected pope, the commissioners are his cardinals, while there are 83,000 pages of regulations that it likes to think are the gospel." "I already have my church," he added, "so I don't need another religion in Brussels." Soini compares Finland's relationship with the EU to its appeasement of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. "Everyone knew that the communist dictatorship was a harmful system, yet we talked about it bringing peace and prosperity," he said. "Now we use this same double-speak when talking about the EU." Such trenchant rhetoric causes some in Finland to dismiss Soini as an attention-grabbing provocateur. Although, to be fair, cracking your knuckles in public is also seen as attention grabbing behavior in Finland. Stubb, the member of the European Parliament, says that Soini glosses over all of the EU's benefits. He notes that by having a seat at the EU table, Finland gets to punch above its weight in global affairs. Without the economic prosperity derived from being part of the EU's large single market, he says, the country would not be able to sustain its generous social welfare model. The EU, by his calculation, costs every Finn just €31 a year - a number he derives by dividing the net cost of Finland's membership over the past 11 years, €1.65 billion, by 5.2 million, the country's population. "Norway has oil and NATO, Iceland has fish and NATO and Finland has But even the pro-European camp in Finland is starting to lose patience. Heidi Hautala, a pro-European parliamentary leader of the Finnish Green party, says support for the EU in Finland is declining because perceptions of the EU have caught up with the reality after expectations were raised too high. Hautala, who served eight years in the European Parliament, says that the EU also has lost Finnish confidence by squandering taxpayers' money and passing bizarre and unnecessary legislation. A committed environmentalist, she says that she is nevertheless bemused by EU proposals calling for observers on EU fishing vessels to monitor the accidental killing of porpoises. When Green Party delegates to the Euro Parliament think you're too extreme, perhaps it's time to take heed. And she says Finns are still reeling over EU proposals a few years ago to ban tar, which has been used for protecting boats and roofs in Finland for centuries. Soini, for his part, has no hesitation about the way forward for Finland. "We need to escape from the heart of darkness in Brussels and stop licking the EU's boots," he says. Every once in a while, you see evidence of common sense lurking in the unlit corners of Europe. Let's hope there's more there than we may fear. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #12 ryuge, nah, I'm not Finnish, at least not that I'm aware of. The blonde part comes from the Lithuanian side of my family. What the hell all us blondes end up doing in the desert is a mystery, though! (Just moved to Florida....like it here too, but miss my native state a lot.) I was there twice in the late '80's, for stopovers before we went to Russia on a student trip. It *is* a beautiful country, but I enjoyed my much briefer stay in Sweden far more. I did write about it on my blog when I first started it, but it is not a place I was ever planning on returning to, chief among them was the attitude towards me when they realized I wasn't Finnish but apparently could pass for one. You would have thought they caught a spy or something. I wish I was kidding. When I was walking around, they would start talking to me in Finnish, and when I probably butchered the words, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Finnish," damn, did I get lectures on how the US sucks! In Sweden, they would start talking to me in Swedish, and when I butchered "Sorry, I don't speak Swedish," they would just laugh and switch to English. I thought they just hated Americans, but my Russian sweetie told me they treated Russians pretty much the same way. The Swedes I talked to about it just kind of stifled it and nodded, so they might get crap too when they visit. Maybe it's a cultural thing, or just a Helsinki thing, I don't know. I didn't get any crap in Turku, but Helsinki was really anti Yankee. It's weird, because the Finns I met here in the states and overseas were polite and cordial. Possibly they would cut you some slack because you are of Finnish descent. I sure hope so! Some places are like that (hate Americans, but are ok as long as you have some family roots there). Go there, see the incredible scenery (and architecture, definitely in a style all its own...there's a reason Finns are known as wonderful designers!), but don't get shocked if they get in your face because you are American. They did it to me, they did it to Jules, and they did it to other people I know, so it's not anything personal....I think. Be prepared for the high prices, too, even by Scandinavian standards. One other thing....if you go, fly Finnair. Their economy class was very nice, not a dungeon like most back-of-the-bus airlines. I'd happily fly them again, they are a terrific airline with great service. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-04-25 22:30 |
| #11 Finnicky Finns |
| Posted by: jim#6 2006-04-25 21:50 |
| #10 Desert Blondie-Had the same experience myself in 1994. Was kinda surprised-they were vehemently anti-American. Was disappointed, too-I had quite A thing about Finland up til then. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-04-25 20:11 |
| #9 DB - since you have visited Helsinki and have the word Blondie in your nickname, may I infer that you have some Finnish heritage? If so, it's interesting how many of us end up here in the Arizona desert. If you ever post anything about visiting Helsinki on your website, I'd love to read it. Haven't been there, but it's on my long list of things I might do before I die. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-04-25 19:08 |
| #8 a reluctant partner with Moscow during the Cold War Err...not really. Maybe the guvmint was, but the population was quite anti-American in Helsinki when I was there in the late 80's, so much so that they made the Russians look like they adored us. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-04-25 18:30 |
| #7 #3 'moose - Louisiana's law is Napoleonic, too. Hmmmm. That explains a lot, methinks. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-04-25 15:46 |
| #6 Soini, for his part, has no hesitation about the way forward for Finland. "We need to escape from the heart of darkness in Brussels and stop licking the EU's boots," he says. We'll have to ask EU Comissioner Kurtz about that... |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-04-25 13:43 |
| #5 Ah, yes Ship. Fond memories of the FlorAla. It's now Gone With the Wind |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-04-25 13:27 |
| #4 ...negative feelings about the EU, with the difficulty of understanding what the bloc actually does cited among the greatest problems. This one is easy. They raise your taxes, steal your land, suppress your voice and expect you to make them rich while you are a new serf. Simple! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-04-25 10:25 |
| #3 Finland is still under Swedish Law, from the early 18th Century, not Napoleonic Law, which is how they do things in Brussels. Its way of doing business may therefore be closer to Common Law England than the majority of the continent. This matters because different legal systems really define countries, and behave like oil and water with each other. The EU is Napoleonic dominated, which is why so much of it is increasingly repugnant to everyone else. There is a good chance that it will become intolerable over time. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-04-25 10:21 |
| #2 More fish tossing. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-25 09:43 |
| #1 "In some countries, people throw fish on the streets to show their discontent," I think I detect covert racism towards us fish throwers. Under International Law, fish throwing is a basic human right. I was going to organize a fish throwing protest in my neighborhood, unfortunately I slipped on something smelly on my driveway and hit my nose on the aformentioned substance and consequently can't separate the smoked fish throwers from the pickled fish throwers. And............ |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-04-25 09:09 |