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Left Alliance (Finland)

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Left Alliance
Vasemmistoliitto
Vänsterförbundet
Abbreviationvas.
ChairpersonLi Andersson
SecretaryMikko Koikkalainen
FoundedApril 1990
Merger ofFinnish People's Democratic League (SKDL)
Socialist Workers Party (Finland)[1]
NewspaperKansan Uutiset
Youth wingLeft Youth
Women's wingLeft Women [fi]
Children's wingDemocratic Union of Finnish Pioneers [fi]
Membership (2017)11,000[2]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing
European affiliationParty of the European Left[3]
Maintenant le Peuple[4]
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
Nordic affiliationNordic Green Left Alliance
Colours  Pink
Parliament
16 / 200
European Parliament
1 / 14
Municipalities
508 / 8,859
County seats
100 / 1,379
Website
vasemmisto.fi

The Left Alliance (Finnish: Vasemmistoliitto [ˈʋɑsemːistoliːtːo], Swedish: Vänsterförbundet, vas.) is a left-wing political party in Finland.[5]

The Left Alliance was founded in 1990 as the chief successor of the left-wing Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL). Although not as electorally successful as the SKDL, it has achieved some success, typically receiving around eight to ten percent of the vote in parliamentary elections. It has participated in five cabinets, most recently the Marin Cabinet formed in 2019. It is socialist,[6] and democratic-socialist,[7] and it supports the principles of eco-socialism.[8][9]

A member of the Party of the European Left and Nordic Green Left Alliance, the party organ is the weekly Kansan Uutiset. It provides the Government of the Sanna Marin with two ministers, Li Andersson as the Education Minister[10] and Hanna Sarkkinen as the Minister of Social Affairs and Health.[11]

History

The party was founded by the Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL), the majority of members of the waning Communist Party of Finland (SKP) and the Finnish Women's Democratic League (SNDL). It was later joined by the communist Democratic Alternative. The founding meeting was held in April 1990 in Helsinki, following the publishing of the April Declaration, which stated the party's ideals.

The party's history has been characterised by internal disputes and bickering, as it was formed via people with very different views on society. There have been several defections from the Left Alliance to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the newly formed Communist Party of Finland. In 2005, the party's former secretary and Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions's assistant head Matti Viialainen formed a group to promote a merger between the two largest Finnish left-wing political parties, the Left Alliance and the SDP. This caused an outrage within the Left Alliance, and Viialainen was condemned for wanting to break up the party. Viialainen subsequently left the party and ran for parliament on the SDP ticket in 2007.[12]

In 2006, the party's leader Suvi-Anne Siimes announced her resignation from the post and the party as a result of long-standing feuds with the leftist section of the party. On 13 May 2006 Martti Korhonen was elected as the new party leader. He was followed by Paavo Arhinmäki in June 2009, following the party's bad performance in the 2009 EU parliamentary election, in which the party lost its only seat.

In the 2011 election, the party won 14 seats and became a partner in the six-party grand coalition cabinet led by Jyrki Katainen. The decision to join the government created a split in the party, leading to the expulsion of two MPs from the parliamentary group. In 2014 the Left Alliance left the cabinet over a dispute on a package of spending cuts and tax hikes.[13] In 2014 European Parliament election, the party regained their seat.

In the 2015 parliamentary election, the party received 211,615 votes, 7.1% of the total, and won 12 seats in the parliament.[14] In April 2016, Arhinmäki announced that he wouldn't seek another term as the party leader.[15] On 11 June 2016, Arhinmäki was succeeded by Li Andersson.[16] Under the leadership of Andersson, the party gained support in the 2017 municipal elections and the 2019 parliamentary election; in the latter, the party increased its representation in the parliament for the first time since 1995.[17][18]

Ideology and policies

Members of the Left Alliance at Helsinki Pride in 2016

According to the Left Alliance's party programme, adopted by the 5th Party Congress 16 June 2007, the fundamental values of the Left Alliance are equality, freedom, sustainable development, and democracy. The party believes democracy must be strengthened, stronger than the power of capital and challenge global capitalism. Important values also include global solidarity, stopping political polarisation in Finland, freedom and the right to work and income for all people, and environmental consciousness.[19] The party is for equality in all its forms and identifies strongly as feminist and anti-racist as well as supporting economic equality. The party supports introducing a universal basic income[20] and prioritizes supporting the weakest members of society.

The Left Alliance wants to improve the European Union to be more socially just.[19] The party endorses a European Green New Deal via changing the European Central Bank's finance-sector quantitative easing stimulus into green stimulus investments to mitigate global warming and to provide green collar jobs.[19][21]

The Party has traditionally been one of the staunch opposers of a NATO membership.[22] After Finland considered an accession bid to the NATO in May 2022, the party was in doubt whether to officially support an eventual NATO membership but assured it would stay in the Finnish Government in the case it would make one.[23] During its annual party congress in June 2022, the alliance adapted its party program and now only demands an eventual NATO membership to remain defensive, with no permanent NATO military bases in the country.[22] It also demanded the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to be taken off the terror list from the European Union.[24][25][26][27]

Chairs

Election results

Parliamentary elections

Election Votes % Seats +/- Government
1991 274,639 10.08
19 / 200
 Opposition
1995 310,340 11.16
22 / 200
 Increase 3 Coalition
1999 291,675 10.88
20 / 200
 Decrease 2 Coalition
2003 277,152 9.93
19 / 200
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2007 244,296 8.82
17 / 200
 Decrease 2 Opposition
2011 238,437 8.15
14 / 200
 Decrease 3 Coalition (2011–2014)
Opposition (2014–2015)
2015 211,702 7.13
12 / 200
 Decrease 2 Opposition
2019 251,808 8.20
16 / 200
 Increase 4 Coalition

Municipal elections

Election Councillors Votes %
1992 1,319 310,757 11.67
1996 1,128 246,597 10.37
2000 1,027 219,671 9.88
2004 987 228,358 9.56
2008 833 224,170 8.78
2012 640 199,312 8.0
2017 658 226,626 8.8
2021 508 194,385 7,9

European Parliament

Election Votes % Seats +/-
1996 236,490 10.51 (#4)
2 / 16
 Increase 2
1999 112,757 9.08 (#5)
1 / 16
 Decrease 1
2004 151,291 9.13 (#5)
1 / 14
 Steady 0
2009 98,690 5.93 (#7)
0 / 13
 Decrease 1
2014 160,818 9.3 (#6)
1 / 13
 Increase 1
2019 125,749 6.9 (#6)
1 / 14
 Steady 0

Presidential elections

Election Candidate 1st round 2nd round
Votes % Votes %
1994 Claes Andersson 122,820 3.8 (#6)
2000 None
2006 Supported Tarja Halonen
2012 Paavo Arhinmäki 167,359 5.5 (#6)
2018 Merja Kyllönen 89,977 3.0 (#7)

Current members of parliament

The following politicians were elected to the Finnish Parliament in the April 2019 parliamentary election.

References

  1. ^ https://www.hs.fi/arkisto/artikkeli/900208085/ [dead link]
  2. ^ facebook.com/vasemmisto (2017-06-19). "Vasemmistoliiton jäsenmäärä kasvaa, korkein luku sitten vuoden 2001" (in Finnish). facebook.com/vasemmisto. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2017-06-19. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ "EL-Parties". European LEFT. Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  4. ^ "Now the People".
  5. ^
  6. ^ Matthews-Ferrero, Daniel; Päri, Jasmin; Steenland, Robert (2019-05-10). "EU country briefing: Finland". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  7. ^ "Populism Report" (PDF). Foundation for European Progressive Studies. September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Left Alliance Party Program 2007" (PDF). Vasemmisto. 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Minister of Education". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  11. ^ "Minister of Social Affairs and Health". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  12. ^ "Viialainen Matti - Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue - Eduskuntavaalit 2007 - HS.fi" (in Finnish). .vaalikone.fi. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  13. ^ HT (26 March 2014). "Left Alliance leaves government". www.helsinkitimes.fi.
  14. ^ "Koko maa - puolueiden kannatus". Yle uutiset. Yleisradio. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Puheenjohtajuuden jättävä Arhinmäki Ylellä: Enemmän aikaa perheelle". Iltalehti. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  16. ^ "Li Andersson kruunattiin virallisesti puheenjohtajaksi". Iltalehti. 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  17. ^ "Front Page". tulospalvelu.vaalit.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  18. ^ "Front Page". tulospalvelu.vaalit.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  19. ^ a b c "Tavoitteet". Vasemmistoliitto (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  20. ^ "Where Next for Finland's Welfare State?". Jacobin. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Vasemmisto puhuu ekologisesta jälleenrakennuksesta, mutta mistä siinä on kyse – Hanna Sarkkinen vastaa". Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  22. ^ a b "Left Alliance calls for decriminalisation of drug use, NCP would allow snus sales". News. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  23. ^ Vanttinen, Pekka (2022-05-10). "Finnish Left Alliance to stay in government regardless of NATO application". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  24. ^ "Viisi nostoa vasemmistoliiton puoluekokouksesta – paljon hyvää ja muutamia avoimia kysymyksiä". Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  25. ^ "Nato | Vasemmistoliitto luopui kielteisestä Nato-kannastaan, esittää myös PKK:n poistamista EU:n terroristijärjestöjen listalta". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  26. ^ "Coalition partner in Finland calls for removal of PKK from terrorist list". Medya News. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  27. ^ "Finnland: Linksbündnis fordert Streichung der PKK von Terrorliste". Firat News (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  28. ^ "Finland's first Somali-born MP sworn in". Yle News. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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