Presidential elections in Finland

I ventured all the way out to Belgravia from Northwest London this morning to carry out an important national duty: to vote in the first round of elections to select a new president for Finland. It was a beautifully sunny day and for once the Embassy on Chesham Place was teaming with my countrymen. What a lovely sight it was to see so many turn up to do their bit! Many of those in the long queue were also young people, which was doubly pleasing.

Though I don't usually make any political points on this blog, I am sure most of my Finnish readers will agree that it is important to keep the (so called!) True Finns out of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. It would be disastrous if the six-year tenure fell into the hands of a party with such extreme right-wing policies.

Lets all hope for a sensible choice from the Finnish people.

Historic election results in Finland

The Finnish Embassy in London where Daughter and I cast our votes

Last week I wrote about the importance of using one's right to vote.

This morning I'm in shock at the results of the Finnish general elections announced late Sunday night. Surprising enough that the National Coalition Party (NCP) is now the largest party with 44 seats out of the 200-strong parliament, but most worrying of all is that an extreme right-wing party opposing immigration and the EU bailouts, True Finns, gained a whopping 39 seats. That's an increase of nearly 15 percent, gaining the party 34 extra seats.

Timo Soini. Picture from www.yle.fi

Early this morning the leader of the True Finns, Timo Soini told the press 'We're not extremists, so you can sleep safely.' Isn't it funny how any extremist party always have to refute their policies? When I read in the True Finns manifesto emotionally laden sentences like, 'Our politics are based on Finnish history and Finnish culture', or 'We do not approve of policies which turn a master into a servant in his own home,' a shiver goes down my spine. And I do sleep badly.

Especially when I further read that over 70 percent of the Finnish voters turned up to vote.  Which means this result was not a consequence of voter apathy where only those with extreme views turned up.

Now on the morning after the election the horse trading between the largest parties begins on who's to form the new government in Finland. The Centre Party, which lost 16 seats in the parliament and its position as the largest party in the country, will now most probably go into opposition.

Jyrki Katainen, photo from www.yle.fi

The leader of the largest party, NCP, Jyrki Katainen, told YLE (Finnish National Broadcasting Corporation) that he'll co-operate with any party as long as the numbers and policies work. His historic victory must surely be tinged with regret that the other winners of the elections are the True Finns.

The mind boggles how a government between the NCP (44 seats), the Social Democrats who got 42 seats and the True Finns with their 39 would work. Would it mean a veto on the Portuguese bailout by the EU, as well as restrictions on immigration?

I fear for the future.

Voting in Finnish general elections

I've written before here about my slight obsession with democracy and elections and the importance of using your right to vote. Hence, I was excited like a little girl, when a few weeks ago, the voting slip for this year's Finnish general elections popped through my letterbox.

Finland has been an independent country with universal suffrage since 1917 - this is only a couple of generations ago, and in my view should never be taken for granted. I won't give you another history lesson (I can hear you nodding off already); all I'll say is that a country situated next to a large superpower values its independence - and being able to freely vote for a government is part of this.

My problem is that since I don't live in Finland, I'm not as up to date with the politics there as I should. When I go 'home', I spend most of my time in Åland, a self-governing part of Finland which has its own elections, or in Sweden, and often don't visit Finland at all. (My Finnish heart aches).

So this morning I've spent an hour looking through the candidate listings. I know which party I want to vote for, and I still vote in the constituency I lived in when I left the country some 25 (ish) years ago, so the list has only about forty or so names. The first thing I look for is anyone I know (this is possible in a country of only 5 million people), next for any women, because I feel the need to carry out some positive discrimination. This may not be necessary: Finland currently has a female President as well as a female Prime Minister, but I need to make my list of possible candidates shorter, so this is as good a way as any. Then I take away all teachers - I don't know why, just because - and I have a manageable list to choose from.

Due to the wonders of the interweb I can now Google my shortlist and hey presto, I have my own little election campaign on screen - most candidates even have a video clip succinctly stating their policies.

After some careful consideration, I have my candidate, and can say I chose her with some kind of an academic approach as opposed to just sticking a pin blindly on a list (which has happened, sadly, in the past).

I cannot tell you how excited I now am about the prospect of casting my vote later. What's more the Finnish Embassy will today - to celebrate the first day of voting - throw it's doors open and have guided tours of the Embassy building in Knightsbridge. I cannot wait to see the sauna in the basement - will it still be there, I wonder?  There will reputedly be coffee and cinnamon buns on offer too.

Afterwards to celebrate the whole wonderful free election process, and being multicultural, I will take Daughter for royal tea - as recommended by my blogging heroine, LLG. I can't wait.