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The Centre Party, the National Coalition Party, the Social Democrats and the Green League held party conferences in May or June 2010 where they elected the party leadership for the election and approved an election manifesto. The Left Alliance held its conference in the previous year, when they voted Paavo Arhinmäki chairman after the previous party leader resigned in 2009 after the party's poor showing in the [[European Parliament election, 2009 (Finland)|European Parliament election]].<ref>{{fi}}{{cite web|author=Miska Rantanen |url=http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Vasemmistoliiton+uusi+puheenjohtaja+Arhinm%C3%A4ki+haluaa+20+paikkaaeduskuntaan/HS20090628SI4YO02fur |title=Vasemmistoliiton uusi puheenjohtaja Arhinmäki haluaa 20 paikkaa eduskuntaan - HS.fi - Nyt |publisher=HS.fi |date=28 June 2009 |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>
The Centre Party, the National Coalition Party, the Social Democrats and the Green League held party conferences in May or June 2010 where they elected the party leadership for the election and approved an election manifesto. The Left Alliance held its conference in the previous year, when they voted Paavo Arhinmäki chairman after the previous party leader resigned in 2009 after the party's poor showing in the [[European Parliament election, 2009 (Finland)|European Parliament election]].<ref>{{fi}}{{cite web|author=Miska Rantanen |url=http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Vasemmistoliiton+uusi+puheenjohtaja+Arhinm%C3%A4ki+haluaa+20+paikkaaeduskuntaan/HS20090628SI4YO02fur |title=Vasemmistoliiton uusi puheenjohtaja Arhinmäki haluaa 20 paikkaa eduskuntaan - HS.fi - Nyt |publisher=HS.fi |date=28 June 2009 |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>


Mari Kiviniemi was elected the new chair of the Centre Party in its conference in [[Lahti]] on 12 June. As the top spots of the party leadership went to Southern Finland many of the party's voters in the northern part of the country (traditionally a stronghold for the Centre Party{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} (in the 2007 election the party received over 43 per cent of the votes in both Oulu and Lapland electoral districts, compared with its nationwide support of 23.1 per cent<ref>{{cite web|url=http://192.49.229.35/E2007/s/tulos/lasktila.html |title=Tulos |publisher=192.49.229.35 |date= |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>) felt disenchanted: one local party chief even warned that many northern Centre Party supporters might switch sides to the True Finns.<ref>{{fi}}{{cite web|author=Helsingin Sanomat |url=http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla+ei+niell%C3%A4+keskustan+valintoja/1135257578250 |title=Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla ei niellä keskustan valintoja |publisher=HS.fi |date=15 June 2010 |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>
Mari Kiviniemi was elected the new chair of the Centre Party in its conference in [[Lahti]] on 12 June. As the top spots of the party leadership went to Southern Finland many of the party's voters in the northern part of the country (where the party's support has been significantly higher than the national average: in the 2007 election the party received over 43 per cent of the votes in both Oulu and Lapland electoral districts, compared with its nationwide support of 23.1 per cent<ref>{{cite web|url=http://192.49.229.35/E2007/s/tulos/lasktila.html |title=Tulos |publisher=192.49.229.35 |date= |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>) felt disenchanted: one local party chief even warned that many northern Centre Party supporters might switch sides to the True Finns.<ref>{{fi}}{{cite web|author=Helsingin Sanomat |url=http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla+ei+niell%C3%A4+keskustan+valintoja/1135257578250 |title=Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla ei niellä keskustan valintoja |publisher=HS.fi |date=15 June 2010 |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>


The Social Democrats re-elected [[Jutta Urpilainen]] as chairman at the party conference held from 28 to 30 May in [[Joensuu]]. She beat [[Erkki Tuomioja]], [[Tarja Filatov]], Ilkka Kantola and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri after she got 218 votes, Tuomioja got 132 votes and the others received no votes.<ref>http://www.sdp.fi/sites/www.sdp.fi/files/politiikka/PTK_2008.pdf</ref> Former CEO of the state-owned [[Finnish Broadcasting Company]] [[Mikael Jungner]] became [[party secretary]]. ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' reported that he was expected to become a "high profile" party secretary with "a pivotal position when the SDP tries to secure a comeback victory in the elections."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Jutta+Urpilainen+unanimously+chosen+for+second+term+as+SDP+leader+ex-YLE+managing+director+Mikael+Jungner+becomes+party+secretary/1135257159472 |title=Jutta Urpilainen unanimously chosen for second term as SDP leader; ex-YLE managing director Mikael Jungner becomes party secretary |author=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |date=28 May 2010 |work= |publisher=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |accessdate=12 June 2010 }}</ref>
The Social Democrats re-elected [[Jutta Urpilainen]] as chairman at the party conference held from 28 to 30 May in [[Joensuu]]. She beat [[Erkki Tuomioja]], [[Tarja Filatov]], Ilkka Kantola and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri after she got 218 votes, Tuomioja got 132 votes and the others received no votes.<ref>http://www.sdp.fi/sites/www.sdp.fi/files/politiikka/PTK_2008.pdf</ref> Former CEO of the state-owned [[Finnish Broadcasting Company]] [[Mikael Jungner]] became [[party secretary]]. ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' reported that he was expected to become a "high profile" party secretary with "a pivotal position when the SDP tries to secure a comeback victory in the elections."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Jutta+Urpilainen+unanimously+chosen+for+second+term+as+SDP+leader+ex-YLE+managing+director+Mikael+Jungner+becomes+party+secretary/1135257159472 |title=Jutta Urpilainen unanimously chosen for second term as SDP leader; ex-YLE managing director Mikael Jungner becomes party secretary |author=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |date=28 May 2010 |work= |publisher=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |accessdate=12 June 2010 }}</ref>

Revision as of 22:34, 20 April 2011

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
← 2007 17 April 2011 (2011-04-17) 2015 →
All 200 seats to the Parliament
  First party Second party Third party
  Jyrki Katainen Jutta Urpilainen Timo Soini
Leader Jyrki Katainen Jutta Urpilainen Timo Soini
Party National Coalition SDP Finns
Leader since 2004 2008 1997
Last election 50 seats, 22.26% 45 seats, 21.44% 5 seats, 4.05%
Seats won 44 42 39
Seat change Decrease6 Decrease3 Increase34
Popular vote 599,138 561,558 560,075
Percentage 20.4% 19.1% 19.1%
Swing Decrease1.9% Decrease2.3% Increase15.0%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  Mari Kiviniemi Paavo Arhinmäki Anni Sinnemäki
Leader Mari Kiviniemi Paavo Arhinmäki Anni Sinnemäki
Party Centre Left Alliance Green
Leader since 2010 2009 2009
Last election 51 seats, 23.11% 17 seats, 8.82% 15 seats, 8.46%
Seats won 35 14 10
Seat change Decrease16 Decrease3 Decrease5
Popular vote 463,266 239,039 213,172
Percentage 15.8% 8.1% 7.3%
Swing Decrease7.3% Decrease0.7% Decrease1.2%
  Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party
  Stefan Wallin Päivi Räsänen Pasi Palmulehto
Leader Stefan Wallin Päivi Räsänen Pasi Palmulehto
Party RKP KD Pirate
Leader since 2006 2004 2009
Last election 9 seats, 4.57% 7 seats, 4.86% –
Seats won 9 6 0
Seat change Steady0 Decrease1 –
Popular vote 125,785 118,453 15,103
Percentage 4.3% 4.0% 0.5%
Swing Decrease0.3% Decrease0.9% Increase0.5%
Prime Minister before election

Mari Kiviniemi
Centre

Elected Prime Minister

TBD

Politics of Finland
State
Executive
Legislative
Judiciary
Recent elections
Political parties
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011. Advance voting, including Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%.[1][2][3] All 200 seats of the parliament were open for election. Total turnout rose to 70.5% from 67.9% in the previous election.

Small differences in the opinion poll ratings for the traditional three main parties (the National Coalition Party, Centre Party and the Social Democrats) and the surprising rise of the True Finns electrified the atmosphere ahead of the election, and intensified its international interest, which was also drawn by the potential for Finland to adopt a new position concerning the EU bailout program for sovereign debtor nations.[4]

The election resulted in a breakthrough for the True Finns, with every other parliamentary party in Finland, excluding the special geographic area of Åland, losing popularity. The absolute vote for the True Finns increased almost five-fold compared to the previous election. The Centre Party lost the most votes, their popular vote decreasing by one-third. The National Coalition Party became the largest party for the first time.[5] The other of the top four parties in the opinion polls, the Social Democrats also lost seats but ended up with more seats than the Centre Party, thus became the second largest party.

Three of the four incumbent governing parties lost a combined 23% of their representatives in parliament: The National Coalition Party lost six seats, the Centre Party lost 16 seats and the Green League lost five seats. Only the Swedish People's Party held on to the same number of seats.[6] Incumbent Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi's coalition got 99 seats, while the opposition parties garnered the rest.

Background

The then Prime Minister of Finland and chairman of the Centre Party Matti Vanhanen said that he would be stepping down from both positions in June 2010. In a party conference held between 11 and 13 June, the then Minister for Regional and Municipal Affairs Mari Kiviniemi was elected as the new party chairman. Vanhanen stepped down from the position of Prime Minister a few days later and was replaced by Kiviniemi, who became the second female Prime Minister in Finnish history.[7]

The incumbent government was considering proposals for a new constitution, including a controversial phrase in the first paragraph of the third clause that reads "Finland is a member of the European Union." It was speculated that the incumbent government could finalise a new constitution before the election but the changes to the constitution would require the support of the next Eduskunta in order to pass.[8]

Electoral method

The 200 members of parliament are elected using the proportional D'Hondt method through which voters cast their vote for a candidate of their choosing within a party list. Electoral alliances between parties are allowed but are rare in this election as the parties were preparing for future electoralreform which would not provide for electoral alliances.

The country is divided into 15 electoral districts. (Åland is the only single member electoral district and it also has its own party system.) The electoral districts are shown below.

Template:Electoral districts of Finland map

Following the problem-ridden[9] limited electronic voting experiment of the 2008 municipal elections, the Ministry of Justice announced in January 2010 that there would be no electronic voting at this time, but that the ministry would be monitoring the international arenas for development of online voting.[10]

Campaign funding

This was the first election since the Act on a Candidate’s Election Funding[11] came into force in May 2009, along with the 2010 amendments to the Act on Political Parties. Both laws mandate the disclosure of the sources of campaign finance and expenses. Every candidate and each party as a whole must disclose their source of funding. Campaign funding starts six months before election day and ends two weeks after the election regardless of when the costs are actually paid. The candidates must file a public report with The National Audit Office detailing their sources of all contributions of over €1,500 in value raised in support of the election campaign. The funds include expenses from the candidate’s own funds, loans taken out for the campaign, and contributions received by either the individual or by a group that supports the candidate. Candidates are barred from receiving anonymous contributions of over €1,500 in value.[12]

Retiring incumbents

Former prime minister Matti Vanhanen began to work as the Chief Executive of Finnish Family Firms Association and did not participate in the election.[13]

The incumbent Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party did not run for parliament, despite receiving a record number of votes in the 2007 election. It is anticipated that he will be the National Coalition Party's presidential candidate in 2012.[14]

Overall there were 38 MPs not seeking re-election:

MP Party Electoral district MP since
Matti Ahde SDP Oulu 1970 [15]
Janina Andersson Green Finland Proper 1995 [15]
fi:Hannakaisa Heikkinen Centre North Savonia 2007 [15]
fi:Hanna-Leena Hemming NCP Uusimaa 2003 [16]
fi:Sinikka Hurskainen SDP Kymi 1983 [17]
Reijo Kallio SDP Satakunta 1995 [15]
Antti Kalliomäki SDP Uusimaa 1983 [15]
Bjarne Kallis Chr. Dem. Vaasa 1991 [18]
fi:Matti Kangas Left Al. Central Finland 1999 [19]
Kyösti Karjula Centre Oulu 1995 [20]
Tanja Karpela Centre Uusimaa 1999 [21]
fi:Matti Kauppila Left Al. Tavastia 2003 [15]
fi:Valto Koski SDP Kymi 1995 [22]
fi:Marjaana Koskinen SDP Finland Proper 1995 [23]
fi:Mikko Kuoppa Left Al. Pirkanmaa 1979 [24]
fi:Lauri Kähkönen SDP North Karelia 1999 [15]
fi:Kari Kärkkäinen Chr. Dem. North Savonia 1999 [25]
Jaakko Laakso Left Al. Uusimaa 1991 [26]
fi:Esa Lahtela SDP North Karelia 1995 [27]
fi:Reijo Laitinen SDP Central Finland 1991 [28]
fi:Jouko Laxell NCP Finland Proper 2004 [29]
Hannes Manninen Centre Lapland 1995 [30]
Sauli Niinistö NCP Uusimaa 1987 [31]
fi:Håkan Nordman SFP Vaasa 1983 [32]
fi:Heikki A. Ollila NCP Pirkanmaa 1987 [33]
fi:Reijo Paajanen NCP Kymi 2003 [34]
fi:Klaus Pentti Centre Pirkanmaa 2003 [15]
fi:Tero Rönni SDP Pirkanmaa 1999 [15]
Petri Salo NCP Vaasa 1999 [35]
fi:Pertti Salovaara Centre Pirkanmaa 2003 [36]
Jacob Söderman SDP Helsinki 1972 [37]
fi:Satu Taiveaho SDP Tavastia 2003 [38]
Esko-Juhani Tennilä Left Al. Lapland 1975 [39]
fi:Tuulikki Ukkola NCP Oulu 1991 [40]
Unto Valpas Left Al. Oulu 1999 [41]
fi:Pekka Vilkuna Centre Oulu 1999 [15]
Lasse Virén NCP Uusimaa 1999 [42]
Raimo Vistbacka True Finns Vaasa 1987 [15][43]

Parties

An election hustings event held by the Lutheran Church in the Helsinki Cathedral crypt.
Further information: List of political parties in Finland

There are 17 registered parties (in Finland a party has to collect signatures from at least 5000 eligible voters in order to be accepted to the official party register). Eight of the parties are represented in the current parliament: Centre Party, National Coalition Party, Social Democrats, Left Alliance, Green League, Swedish People's Party of Finland, Christian Democrats and True Finns. Nine of the registered parties did not have representation in the parliament before the elections: Communist Party of Finland, Senior Citizens' Party of Finland, Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism, Workers Party of Finland, Independence Party, For the Poor, Pirate Party, Change 2011, and Freedom Party.[44]

Party conferences

The Centre Party, the National Coalition Party, the Social Democrats and the Green League held party conferences in May or June 2010 where they elected the party leadership for the election and approved an election manifesto. The Left Alliance held its conference in the previous year, when they voted Paavo Arhinmäki chairman after the previous party leader resigned in 2009 after the party's poor showing in the European Parliament election.[45]

Mari Kiviniemi was elected the new chair of the Centre Party in its conference in Lahti on 12 June. As the top spots of the party leadership went to Southern Finland many of the party's voters in the northern part of the country (where the party's support has been significantly higher than the national average: in the 2007 election the party received over 43 per cent of the votes in both Oulu and Lapland electoral districts, compared with its nationwide support of 23.1 per cent[46]) felt disenchanted: one local party chief even warned that many northern Centre Party supporters might switch sides to the True Finns.[47]

The Social Democrats re-elected Jutta Urpilainen as chairman at the party conference held from 28 to 30 May in Joensuu. She beat Erkki Tuomioja, Tarja Filatov, Ilkka Kantola and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri after she got 218 votes, Tuomioja got 132 votes and the others received no votes.[48] Former CEO of the state-owned Finnish Broadcasting Company Mikael Jungner became party secretary. Helsingin Sanomat reported that he was expected to become a "high profile" party secretary with "a pivotal position when the SDP tries to secure a comeback victory in the elections."[49]

The National Coalition Party reelected the current Minister for Finance Jyrki Katainen as the party leader on 12 June.[50]

The Green League held its party conference between 22 and 23 May. The Greens emphasised the importance of the environment and set same-sex marriage and increasing foreign aid as the party's objectives.[51]

Campaign

The European sovereign debt crisis was an important issue in the election, even more so after Portugal applied for an EU bailout on 6 April, the first day of advance voting. According to an opinion poll nearly 60 per cent of Finns are against Finland's participation in bailing out the crisis countries.[52] All four parties of the governing coalition (Centre Party, National Coalition Party, Green League and the Swedish People's Party) support Finland's participation in the bailout and all four opposition parties (Social Democrats, Left Alliance, Christian Democrats and the True Finns) oppose such measures. The issue helped Soini become the most visible opposition leader.[53] Soini then also stated that his party would not join in any coalition that supports guarantees to the crisis-ridden EU countries. He said that their crises are a consequence of the EU's failure.[54] Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen had commented that a bailout for Portugal should only happen if the Portuguese parliament passed even tougher austerity measures than the failed programme that led to an early Portuguese election in 2011: "The package must be really strict because otherwise it doesn't make any sense. The package must be harder and more comprehensive than the one the parliament voted against."[55] Despite his comments, both the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party supported the bailout under the EU's auspices, while the True Finns and the Social Democrats were opposed to it.[56] The True Finns said that Finnish taxpayers were being unjustly burdened by "squanderers" within the eurozone and pointed out that no one aided Finland during its own financial crisis in the 1990s.[57] Helsingin Sanomat read the affair as having added "confusion" and complexity to the electoral race.[56] The effect of the Finnish election on a possible EU bailout was concerning to international investors as "it is a very distinct possibility that the next government and parliament of Finland will not want to agree to the things that the current government has signed up for, namely supporting Portugal and agreeing to the permanent and temporary crisis mechanisms"[58] as there was said to be an "even chance" of Finland blocking a bailout for Portugal as its support was crucial because it would need the unanimous support of all national governments to pass.[57] Should a new Finnish administration opt out, this could throw into doubt the eurozone's capacity to maintain financial stability.[59]

Despite changes to the campaign finance laws there was no perceptible decrease in campaigning activity. One reason was a compensatory expansion of advertising by way of internet search engines, Facebook and other social media which are relatively inexpensive. Helsingin Sanomat called election workers in all electoral districts, excluding the Åland Islands, to ask for their assessments of the electoral campaigns. They reported that while the National Coalition Party’s campaigns were the most visible, the Centre Party and the Social Democrats also had high-profile campaigns with some variations across districts. The National Coalition Party were also said to be spending more of their own money than in the past.[60]

Centre Party

The Centre Party is the traditional party of rural voters but according to polls it has been losing support to the True Finns in regions which have traditionally been its stronghold.[61][62][63] The party has traditionally had both a liberal and a conservative wing, however, with the leadership reshuffling in 2010 the central posts are now held by the liberal wing.[64] The Centre Party has held the portfolio of prime minister since 2003. According to opinion polls Kiviniemi's personal support is higher than that of the party.[65] She has also been campaigning as a staunch defender of Finland's participation in guarantees to the crisis-ridden EU countries.[66]

Christian Democrats

The Christian Democrats, led by Päivi Räsänen, have announced that they will not support any governing coalition that plans on legalising same-sex marriage.[67] Räsänen has also said that Christian refugees ought to be favoured in Finland's refugee policy on the grounds that they have better potential for successful integration to the society than refugees of other religions.[68]

Green League

The Green League, which is currently part of the governing coalition, has announced that it will not participate in any coalition that plans to give licences to new nuclear reactors.[69]

The Green League also hosted members from the German Green Party, however, they did not partake in campaign events but instead were only present to learn about Finland's style of street campaigning.[70]

Left Alliance

As a defender of high taxes the Left Alliance's chief Arhinmäki has said that the party can be described as supportive of income redistribution.[71][72] The Left Alliance is critical of nuclear energy[73] and is also against Finland's participation in the EU-sponsored Portuguese bailout.[74]

National Coalition Party

Traditionally a pro-market and pro-EU centre-right party, the National Coalition Party had gained the most new seats in the previous parliamentary election. Although leading in the opinion polls for several years, after the rise of the True Finns it started to see some loss of support. Despite being originally founded as a primarily conservative party, an analysis made by an NCP-affiliated think tank concerning the party's programmes concluded that in the 2000s the liberal wing had gained the upper hand and started to change the party's political ideology.[75] During the party conference in 2010 the party voted to support the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[76] The party's supporters are also generally very supportive of a market economy, nuclear power and Finland's admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.[75]

Led by the incumbent Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen, the NCP has been strongly supportive of Finland's participation in EU bailouts with Katainen underlining the importance of European responsibility.[77] He also invited Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, though he did not address a party rally. MP Ben Zyskowicz said that he could not estimate Reinfeldt's affect on voters.[70]

Social Democrats

Polls concerning preference for the favourite candidate for prime minister indicated that Jutta Urpilainen of the Social Democrats does not enjoy the support of everyone in her party.[78] Urpilainen herself has denied claims of a leadership crisis.[79]

In early April the new leader of the Swedish Social Democrats Håkan Juholt visited Finland in order to show support for the SDP in the election.[80] The party also invited other foreign politicians and ministers for a campaign rally in the week before the election. SDP MEP Liisa Jaakonsaari justified this by saying that it was a tradition to invite colleagues from other states. The party's main guest was the chairman of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European parliament, although he almost did not make it due to a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy having to be canceled. In the interim, the party also invited Swedish Social Democrat Marita Ulvskog who echoed the view that "investors and banks need to take responsibility." Former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen was also present; he praised the EU and EMU and said that Finland is in a "psychological and moral slump."[70] Following a recent election the chairman of the Estonian Social Democratic Party Sven Mikser and MEP Ivari Padar traveled to campaign rallies in Helsinki and Espoo on 11 April to support support for their "sister party's field campaign." Mikser said that "Social Democrats recently garnered a strong vote in Estonia and are clearly on the rise. Now we need the same to happen in Finland;" Padar also said that because of the rise of anti-EU parties in both Finland and other countries: "That is why I personally consider it important to explain to the Finnish people that Europe should not be feared. Since Estonia and Finland are the only Nordic countries in the Eurozone, we need to have strong partnership in the region."[81]

Swedish People's Party of Finland

The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SFP) is the dominant party amongst Swedish speaking voters: a poll has indicated that 75 per cent of them support the party.[82] The SFP is led by Stefan Wallin. The party is resolute on preserving the mandatory teaching of Swedish language in schools. The SFP also wants to preserve the current immigration laws, which were passed on the initiative of the current Migration Minister Astrid Thors, who represents the party.[83]

True Finns

True Finns have said that Finland should not financially support the European Financial Stability Facility that led to bailouts for Ireland and Greece. Timo Soini asked "How come they (the European Union) can’t see the euro doesn’t work?"[84] The party manifesto said that they would support a capital gains tax increase from 28% to 30%[85] and an increased tax on alcohol. They also oppose mention of Finland’s EU membership in the constitution and want to cut social welfare for immigrants.[86] He also suggested Finland should unilaterally withdraw from the emission trade system and some other international commitments and that giving up the euro was an option. While speculating about a possible ministerial portfolio he later backed down on commitments when journalists asked him if the issues would be True Finns' demands in any possible government formation talks, citing the proposals as his personal opinion and not necessarily incorporated into a prospective government policy programme. He continued to maintain that the EU membership issue in the constitution would be a threshold issue in government formation talks. The Helsingin Sanomat suggested that these demands could prove detrimental to a chance for True Finns to join a governing coalition.[8] The True Finns also support the continuation of social-welfare benefits. The party's support for welfare benefits and its stance on the EU bailouts was also seen as one reason for its growth in popularity at at a time when the country was facing welfare cuts by the government. Party vice chairman Vesa-Matti Saarakkala said that "The True Finns will not participate in a coalition government with any party ready to give further loan guarantees." This stance on the EU's bailout was read by the Wall Street Journal as detrimental to the euro zone's attempt to reassure bond investors that it would not face debt problems.[87] It also said that a good showing for the the True Finns could threaten Portugal's EU-sponsored bailout.[88]

Incumbent Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi said that she was ready to work with any party in Finland. When pressed by the media she said that she would not rule out working with the True Finns pending cooperation on negotiating a government platform.[89] True Finns and the Green League have both confirmed that the two parties are ideologically too far from each other to sit in the same coalition.[90]

The True Finns' main campaign issues - lowering refugee quotas, cutting foreign aid and Finland's financial contribution to the European Union - were seen as a possible hindrance to coalition talks.[91]

Debates

A hustings event in Caisa cultural centre, Helsinki, for the election.

In February the three biggest parties partook in a debate organised by the Finnish Business and Policy Forum in front of a crowd of businessmen. The National Coalition's Katainen said that as a result of February polling there were now four prime ministerial candidates from the four largest parties. However, True Finns' chairman and MEP Timo Soini was excluded because the various pollings presented at the time were different. All parties insisted that the retirement age must not be lowered from 63. The SDP's Urpilainen said that the party would maintain a need to cut pensions and that increasing the retirement age is a form of cutting pensions; to support this she pointed out an earlier retirement age law at 65-years-old and that the age had been lowered. She also added that because of a large proportion of disabled pensioners younger people should join the workforce quickly after graduating. Katainen and the Centre Party's Kiviniemi said they would consider raising the retirement age to lengthen working years. Kiviniemi said that "Some of the directors of our large corporations are retiring at the age of 59-60. At the same time demands are being presented that people should work for longer." Urpilainen also said that lowering the value added tax on food was mistake, though she said that it should not be raised either.[92]

The first televised prime ministerial debate was organised by YLE on 31 March in Tampere and included the chairmen of the four parties leading in the opinion polls: Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party, Timo Soini of the True Finns, PM Mari Kiviniemi of the Centre Party and Jutta Urpilainen of the Social Democrats. The European sovereign debt crisis featured prominently in the debate: as the leaders of the governing coalition Katainen and Kiviniemi defended Finland's participation in guaranteeing the debts of crisis-ridden EU countries claiming that Finland would otherwise risk plunging into a new recession as the country is dependent on exports to other European countries. As chairmen of the leading opposition parties Soini and Urpilainen denied this claim and insisted that the debt-ridden countries should rather be allowed to go into their own debt restructuring. Urpilainen was not entirely against emergency measures aimed at saving these countries but insisted that the major European banks ought to play a larger role in the guarantees. Soini continued his criticism of the euro, reiterating that no referendum was ever called on the currency union – he remained steadfast on his party's opposition to Finland guaranteeing the debts of other EU countries or giving any loans to them and presented the upcoming election as a referendum on the issue. On other economic issues, Kiviniemi continued to insist that spending cuts are not necessary in the following years – a claim repudiated by the other party leaders. Urpilainen and, initially, also Katainen were willing to make cuts on defence spending; Soini, however, contested the cut but was instead ready to cut developmental aid and immigration-related expenses.[93]

On 6 April MTV3 organised a debate for all incumbent parties represented in parliament. On the question of Finland's participation in NATO operations in Libya during the 2011 Libyan conflict Soini of the True Finns and Arhinmäki of the Left Alliance disagreed with the other party leaders' stance supporting Finland's participation. Soini said that "Finland should not be taken into wars."[94][95] All opposition parties criticised the government's tax policies which they claimed were aiming towards the establishment of a flat tax.[96] On the question of energy policy the chairmen of the National Coalition Party, True Finns and the Swedish People's Party of Finland were in favour of building more nuclear energy on the grounds of achieving energy self-sufficiency (Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party said that "we need to decide to either import nuclear energy from Russia or produce it ourselves" and Soini pointed out that the steel industry does not get along with mere wind energy), while the leaders of the other five parties were against it, with some preferring instead to build more renewable energy infrastructure (Anni Sinnemäki of the Green League said that "not all renewable energy is expensive" and Urpilainen of the SDP insisted that after the decisions in summer 2010[97] to give licenses for the creation of two new reactors a halt was needed[why?] in any decision to further nuclear projects).[98][99][95] Stefan Wallin of the Swedish People's Party of Finland was the only party leader willing to force municipalities into taking in refugees allocated to them.[78]

On 13 April MTV3 organised another debate, which featured the same four party chairmen as the debate by YLE two weeks earlier: Katainen, Kiviniemi, Urpilainen and Soini. The party leaders reiterated their stances regarding the EU-sponsored Portuguese bailout: Katainen and Kiviniemi were in favour of it, insisting that the bailout is necessary in order to assure the stability of the European economy and thus also the interests of Finland. Urpilainen and Soini were against the bailout: Urpilainen demanded more responsibility from banks and investors instead of taxpayers and Soini repeated his stance that the eurozone cannot possibly function properly with countries like Portugal and Greece as members. Soini also criticised the governing parties for using scare tactics in the form of threatening Finns with rising unemployment if the bailout fails to pass. On other issues, Katainen was willing to consider raising the minimum retirement age, while Urpilainen announced that the SDP would not join any coalition that does so.[100][101] Katainen was the only party leader in favour of Finland's admission to NATO. However, even he said that the admission does not seem possible during the next four years as the majority of Finns are against NATO membership.[102]

The last televised debate before election day was organised by YLE on 14 April and it included all parties currently represented in the parliament. The economy was an important theme of the debate. The SDP's Urpilainen reiterated her claim that the incumbent government is furthering the establishment of a flat tax. She also accused the government for advancing the interests of the richest one per cent at the expense of the poor. The National Coalition Party's (NCP) Katainen denied these claims, but the two main governing coalition parties, the NCP and the Centre Party, were the only parties opposed to increasing welfare for the unemployed.[103] PM Mari Kiviniemi of the Centre Party had previously been quiet on spending cuts, but when pressed on the issue by the debate's moderator she was rather indiscreet on cutting funding for the public sector and the Defence Forces. However, she still insisted that cuts may not be necessary if the economic growth is sufficiently high in the following years.[104] Cuts on defence spending were supported by most parties, but Timo Soini of the True Finns contested this by saying that national security can not depend on economic conjunctures.[105] The crisis concerning the breaches against the campaign funding laws during the previous electoral campaign in 2007 was also discussed. Kiviniemi admitted that mistakes had been made. Soini called the mishandling an example of corruption and was glad that it was exposed. Kiviniemi discreetly said to Soini that the press had written about events in Soini's party as well. Soini's reply to this was: "The press? Your people are on trial!"[106]

Controversies

During the night between Sunday 10 and Monday 11 April animal rights activists opposing fur farming systematically sabotaged a large number of the Centre Party's electoral billboards in both Helsinki and Turku.[107] The billboards, featuring a portrait of incumbent Prime Minister Kiviniemi, were replaced with similar-looking posters featuring a blood-mouthed Kiviniemi and a text that read "Do you want to close the animals in small cages? – I do as well." Kiviniemi was known for having received support from fur industry.[108] In a comment to the state broadcaster YLE,[109] Secretary of the Centre Party Timo Laaninen condemned the action as "a serious violation of the democratic order that would be met with harsh countermeasures," as volunteers hoped to restore the billboards by the morning of 13 April. In an official statement, the Green Party's Minister of Justice Tuija Brax condemned the acts of vandalism as both alarming and illegal and urged citizens to report all vandalism to the authorities so as to allow the parties to replace the boards and bring the culprits to justice.[110] Other parties also joined the Centre Party's concern that election billboards were being repeatedly vandalised, bringing unwelcome expenses especially for the smaller parties.[109] The Centre Party lodged an official complaint against the vandalism with the police.[111] A police investigation was been launched into the incident.[112]

Some campaigning by party workers of the True Finns caused controversy over the nature of their actions. Most complaints emanated from the Helsinki region. Jussi Saramo of the Left Alliance in the Uusimaa district said of their actions that "[ever since] I have been involved in politics for 12 years and I have never seen such excesses." This followed an event in Korso in Vantaa where he parked his campaign trailer in a spot the True Finns said was reserved for party chairman Timo Soini. True Finns’ candidate Mika Niikko however said those involved in the spat were no longer working for his campaign and he apologised to Saramo despite maintaining his stance that the placement of the trailer was a deliberate provocation. "I do not approve of being provoked when someone tries to provoke;" also adding that the volunteers working for the True Finns campaign come "from here and there" and it was not possible to verify everyone beforehand. He further added a claim that True Finns supporters have also been targets of aggressive behaviour. "A month ago we were not verbally abused, but now you can hear all kinds of language." The Social Democrats' foreign-born candidate Ranbir Sodhi was allegedly confronted by True Finns supporters in the Myyrmäki district of Vantaa who were said to have told him to go back "to his own country" where he could become a politician. A week after the confrontations, however, he said that "the same guys came to Tikkurila to apologise." The National Coalition Party MP Raija Vahasalo also complained that during a campaign event in Kirkkonummi the True Finns handed out leaflets at the same time that claimed she favoured Swedish-speaking residents in allocating local school funding. The action was due to two local members of the True Finns who are not running to become MPs. The chairman of Kirkkonummi True Finns and a candidate in the election Pekka Sinisalo said he confiscated the remainder of the leaflets. "I do not approve of attacking Vahasalo’s person. Election fever sometimes leads to these kinds of excesses." This was controversial as negative campaigning is unusual in Finnish elections. In response to such actions the party secretaries of the largest political parties held a meeting to discuss certain ground rules for the rest of the campaign, however the True Finns' Ossi Sandvik could not make it.[113]

Polling

Taloustutkimus performs monthly telephone polls on party popularity for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. The monthly sample size varies between 2,900-3,900 with a margin of error of about ±1.8 %.[114] (Polling does not include Åland as it has its own party system.)[115]

Party 2007 Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar 2010 Apr 2010 May 2010 Jun 2010 Jul 2010 Aug 2010 Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 Apr 2011
Centre Party 23.1% 20.7% 19.6% 20.7% 20.6% 18.6% 19.2% 19.7% 19.7% 19.0% 17.6% 18.6% 18.8% 18.5% 18.9% 18.1% 18.6%
National Coalition Party 22.3% 23.2% 23.6% 22.9% 22.7% 23.0% 21.9% 23.0% 22.8% 21.9% 21.7% 21.1% 21.2% 20.4% 20.9% 20,1% 21.2%
Social Democrats 21.4% 21.0% 21.2% 21.2% 21.3% 21.3% 21.1% 20.5% 20.4% 19.8% 19.1% 18.4% 18.1% 18.9% 17.5% 18.1% 18.0%
Left Alliance 8.8% 8.1% 8.3% 8.0% 7.6% 7.7% 8.1% 7.8% 7.5% 7.2% 7.8% 7.9% 8.1% 7.2% 7.3% 7.3% 8.2%
Green League 8.5% 10.1% 10.4% 10.4% 10.3% 10.3% 10.6% 9.5% 9.2% 9.9% 9.7% 9.1% 9.5% 9.2% 8.5% 9.0% 9.0%
Christian Democrats 4.9% 4.6% 4.3% 4.3% 4.8% 4.2% 4.2% 4.3% 3.9% 4.4% 4.6% 4.5% 3.8% 3.8% 4.2% 4.6% 4.2%
Swedish People's Party of Finland 4.6% 4.1% 4.1% 4.0% 3.6% 3.7% 3.9% 4.0% 4.4% 3.9% 4.2% 4.0% 3.4% 4.1% 3.9% 3.8% 4.2%
True Finns 4.1% 6.4% 6.3% 6.8% 7.8% 9.6% 9.8% 10.1% 10.7% 12.5% 14.3% 14.9% 15.3% 16.6% 16.9% 17.2% 15.4%
[116]/[117]

Other polls too had indicated a significant rise in support for the True Finns. A poll commissioned by TNS Gallup for Helsingin Sanomat in March showed the True Finns with 18.4% of support, making it the second most popular party behind the National Coalition Party.[118] Surveys in individual electoral districts as well had shown large support for the True Finns. The party had polled over 20% support in several electoral districts.[119][120][121] An Helsingin Sanomat poll suggested that the party was eating into the Centre Party's vote bank in Lapland and the Left Alliance could also lose one of its two seats in the district.[122] Similar developments had been polled in the other electoral districts; Suomen Kuvalehti said that on the whole the True Finns were attracting supporters from all the three largest parties and that one-fifth of its voters did not vote in the last election.[123]

The latest poll commisioned by TNS Gallup for Helsingin Sanomat in early April indicated that the NCP was still the largest party with 20.2%, closely followed by the Centre Party with 17.9% and the Social Democrats with 18%, while True Finns polled slightly less than in the previous poll with 16.9%. The Green League was further behind with 8.3%.[124] A representative of TNS Gallup said that the actual support of the True Finns was hard to estimate because of exceptionally high margins of error and the fact that the result of the previous election was used to adjust the poll's raw data.[125]

Other polling

Although the NCP had been atop the Centre Party in all opinion polls, the polls concerning the voters' preference for the next prime minister had given higher numbers for the incumbent PM Kiviniemi of the Centre Party. In an April poll she was the citizens' favourite candidate to be next PM with 28 per cent, while NCP's Katainen received 27 per cent. Soini of the True Finns got a share of 13 per cent and the Social Democrat Urpilainen received 10 per cent.[126]

A poll of Finnish teachers, mostly from southern and western Finland, indicated that 41% questioned by Opettaja-lehti ("Teacher Magazine") wanted limits of 20-30% on immigrant students in schools and daycare centres. A 75% majority also said that immigrants should be dispersed throughout the country to avoid concentrations of immigrant populations within certain areas. A majority also said that they had received no training to teach immigrants.[127]

A study conducted by Swedish and Finnish economists found that there is "a greater effect of good looks, in terms of more votes for candidates on the right."[128] A poll, conducted for the eighth time, of 28,000 secondary, upper secondary, and vocational school students below the age of voting suggested that the Eduskunta would have 12 parties in the "youth election." The poll suggested that only 58 women would be MPs, the average age of MPs would be 38.6 and that there would be more immigrant MPs. In terms of seats the Green League and the National Coalition Party would be the largest followed by the Centre Party. The Pirate Party would also get as many seats as the Left Alliance. Incumbent Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi would not win her seat and True Finns leader Timo Soini would get the largest number of personal votes.[129]

Election

Advance voting

The total number of advance votes at the end of the advance voting period was 1,249,198, or 31.2 per cent of the electorate, with more women voting. In the previous election 29.2 per cent voted in advance.[130][131][132] Significantly, President Tarja Halonen voted during advance voting. However, there were some problems with expatriate voting as the embassy in Germany ran out of ballots on 9 April forcing an extension to 11 April.[133] The expatriate vote was considerably higher than in the previous election up from 15 percent to 27.9 percent.[134][135]

There were 901 advance polling stations in the country. Expatriate voting took place between 6 and 9 April at 241 polling stations in embassies and consulates. One national electronic voter list was used for early voting; though for the 17 April poll voters can only vote at their designated local polling station.

However, despite large advance voting, the race was not seen as over because what was termed crucial undecided voters were still being targeted for the remaining few days. As parties and candidate issues are already known by most of the electorate, the remaining days were seen as important over "image and force of personality". Professor of Political Science at the University of Helsinki Jan Sundberg said that "the more crisis (sic) out in the world, the better for the parties in opposition."[136]

Result

The True Finns' Timo Soini got the most individual votes with 43,437, followed by incumbent Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party with 41,768.[137]

Template:Finnish parliamentary election, 2011

Anti-incumbency led to the defeat of 47 incumbent members of parliament, including the Minister for Foreign Frade and Development Paavo Väyrynen of the Centre Party and the Minister for Communication Suvi Lindén of the National Coalition Party. Other notable[dubious – discuss] MPs who failed to hold onto their seats included former Minister for Agriculture Juha Korkeaoja of the Centre Party, the vice-chairman of the Centre Party Timo Kaunisto and Marja Tiura of the National Coalition Party, who in the 2007 election was elected with the highest number of votes for a female candidate.[138][139]

The new parliament has 115 male MPs and 85 female MPs.[140]

Analysis

Centre Party

The party of the incumbent Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi suffered the heaviest defeat in the election. This was also the biggest loss in the party's history and the biggest loss for any party in the country's post-war history. Party chairman Kiviniemi called the result catastrophic for her party and said that the party's immediate future would be in the opposition.[141]

The Centre Party's support was highest in the Oulu electoral district with 33.4 percent of the votes and lowest in the Helsinki electoral district with 4.5 percent.[142]

Christian Democrats

The Christian Democrats' party leader Päivi Räsänen saw the party's loss of one seat as relatively small considering what she termed the "political storm" that had swept through Finland during the electoral campaign.[143]

Their was highest in the Tavastia electoral district with 6.8 percent of the votes and lowest in the Lapland electoral district with 1.6 percent of the votes.[144]

Green League

As a result of the Green League's loss of a third of their MPs, party's leader Anni Sinnemäki said on election night itself that the objectives and values advocated by the party had suffered a clear defeat. She added that the party would sit in the opposition.[145] She was also considering her resignation from the head of the party.[146]

The Green League's support was highest in the Helsinki electoral district with 16.7 percent of the votes and lowest in the Vaasa electoral district with 1.4 percent of the votes.[147]

Left Alliance

Despite the Left Alliance's loss of seats its chairman Paavo Arhinmäki was still reasonably satisfied with the party's performance in the election due to his claims that the media had concentrated on the four major parties during the campaign. However, Arhinmäki also got the most personal votes in his electoral district of Helsinki.[148][149]

The Left Alliance's support was highest in the Lapland electoral district with 16.7 percent if the votes and lowest in the South Savonia electoral district with 2.2 percent of the votes.[150]

National Coalition Party

Despite a loss in support, the National Coalition Party became the country's largest party for the first time in its history.[151]

The NCP's support was highest in the Uusimaa electoral district with 28.4 percent of the votes and lowest in the North Karelia electoral district with 10.5 percent of the votes.[152]

Social Democratic Party

Although the SDP's number of seats was lower than ever with the exception of the 1962 election, chairman Jutta Urpilainen was proud of her party finishing second in the election after its previous third place position.[153][154]

The SDP's support was highest in the North Karelia electoral district with 26.4 percent of the votes and lowest in the Oulu electoral district with 11 percent of the votes.[155]

Swedish People's Party of Finland

Despite the loss of votes the SFP retained their number of seats in parliament. Chairman Stefan Wallin described the election result as "interesting."[why?][156]

The SFP's support was highest in the Vaasa electoral district with 19.4 percent of the votes and lowest in the Oulu electoral district with 0.2 percent of the votes. However, the party was the only one that did not field candidates in all electoral districts.[157]

True Finns

The True Finns had their best ever electoral performance. This was the largest electoral victory for any party in the country's post-war history.[158]

Their support was highest in the Satakunta electoral district with 23.6 percent of the votes and lowest in the Helsinki electoral district with 13 percent of the votes.[159] With the exception of Helsinki the party's support was spread out evenly across the country.[160] The strongest municipality for the True Finns was Kihniö, where the party received an absolute majority of votes with 53.2 percent.[161]

Government formation

As the leader of the largest party Jyrki Katainen of the NCP will begin the negotiations to form a new coalition government. Katainen has said that the result of the election supports a coalition based on the three largest parties, ie. the National Coalition Party, the Social Democratic Party and the True Finns.[162] Political analysts have predicted tough negotiations, as the three parties have differing stances on many issues.[163]

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External links

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