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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 6:27:34 GMT -5
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Post by DeadpanDoubter on Apr 17, 2011 6:48:35 GMT -5
10 bucks says my pale ass would "fit in" fine.
...why do I imagine Crocodile Dundee snorting at a fish's fins and saying "Tha's not a Finn. THIS is a Finn!"?
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Post by Amaranth on Apr 17, 2011 7:49:44 GMT -5
10 bucks says my pale ass would "fit in" fine. ...why do I imagine Crocodile Dundee snorting at a fish's fins and saying "Tha's not a Finn. THIS is a Finn!"? Oh, the images. |
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Post by SCarpelan on Apr 17, 2011 8:07:06 GMT -5
Actually, based on the comments of the party leader Timo Soini the official party line is not quite that crazy. Their opinion seems to be on the line with: "You have education and skills and are prepared to integrate into a traditional protestant christian society? You are welcome here. You want to preserve your own culture or are a poor and uneducated person running from persecution to save your life? Fuck off, those are not our problems." (Not actual quote) Then again, it's not that easy to pinpoint what exactly their stance in any given issue. The opinions within the party vary so much that you can get quotes from them varying between ignorant, moderately conservative, ultra-conservative and just fucked-up crazy. |
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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 10:13:04 GMT -5
Actually, based on the comments of the party leader Timo Soini the official party line is not quite that crazy. Their opinion seems to be on the line with: "You have education and skills and are prepared to integrate into a traditional protestant christian society? You are welcome here. You want to preserve your own culture or are a poor and uneducated person running from persecution to save your life? Fuck off, those are not our problems." (Not actual quote) Then again, it's not that easy to pinpoint what exactly their stance in any given issue. The opinions within the party vary so much that you can get quotes from them varying between ignorant, moderately conservative, ultra-conservative and just fucked-up crazy.It really is a fine line between clever and stupid  EDIT: voting has ended, the election coverage is on TV right now, and it seems the True Finns are doing pretty well for themselves right now. will update as it continues. EDIT 2: Counting isn't done yet, but True Finns are doing too well, they have got 41 seats, while the leading party (National Coalition Party) has 42. EDIT 3: True Finns lost 2 seats, putting them at 39 seats, behind both the Coalition party and the Social Democrats |
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Post by SCarpelan on Apr 17, 2011 14:27:18 GMT -5
The Parliamentary election votes are being counted and it's now clear that the True Finns are going to gain the greatest election victory any party has gained since WWII. It's not yet clear what the exact vote share is going to be between the three biggest parties (the others being the conservative National Coalition party and Social Democratic Party) and they might share the top three positions in any order although NCP seems to most probably be taking the first position. The negotiations to form a government are going to be the most difficult since 1970's thanks to the True Finns' strong position against the EU bailouts and EU in general.
This definitely means that the True Finns are going to be involved in the negotiations but it's less certain that they are going to accept the conditions given in the negotiations. In this situation I'd actually hope that they are going to be involved in the government because then they'd actually have to take responsibility for their election promises. There is no way that they'd be able to satisfy their voters which I hope would result in them losing a major part of their credibility. That's something that happened to the Green Party in this election thanks to them being in the government that greenlighted building more nuclear plants. On the other hand, if they somehow stay in the opposition they'd be able to keep criticizing the other parties' policies without actually taking any responsibility.
By the way, a big reason for the success of the True Finns is that they offered a channel for protesting against the stabilized three big parties. I had hoped that this status quo would have been broken by the Green Party in the future since their liberal values are supported largely by the younger generations. Now it seems that the ones breaking it are the conservatives... Fuck this.
Edit: I was distracted several times when typing this so the first sentences aren't correct anymore. It seems pretty sure that the NCP is the biggest party for the first time in its history (yay for neo-liberal economic policies and GDP worship, fuck the poor). This means that they'll be the ones heading the negotiations to form a new government. Luckily the Social Democrats are ahead of the True Finns and they'll be also involved in the negotiations. I'm no fan of them but among these three they are the least revolting.
By the way, apparently we just got our first black representative in the Parliament. He also happens to be gay so there's a minority twofer... Not surprisingly, he's from the Green Party.
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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 14:48:52 GMT -5
When Timo Soini was giving a speech just now, I saw a black guy watching in the crowd. he must have been the token black friend.
EDIT: about 40 minutes until the coverage ends and final results are announced, so far results haven't really changed that much.
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Post by maanantai on Apr 17, 2011 15:21:02 GMT -5
I noticed yesterday, that someone had put A4-paper with troll face and "problem?" with it over the National Coalition Partys banner near my home. Made me laugh and wonder the point of it at the same time. Sadly it seems that no one from the party I voted for is getting in  (But on a positive sidenote, Christian Democrats are losing one seat, yay!) |
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Post by SCarpelan on Apr 17, 2011 15:56:18 GMT -5
It's also a positive sign that the Left Alliance lost only 2 seats. With the huge grab the True Finns made it's pretty much the same as gaining seats in a more "normal" election. Of all the parties in the parliament they seem the most rational and responsible at the moment.
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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 15:56:57 GMT -5
I noticed yesterday, that someone had put A4-paper with troll face and "problem?" with it over the National Coalition Partys banner near my home. Made me laugh and wonder the point of it at the same time. Sadly it seems that no one from the party I voted for is getting in (But on a positive sidenote, Christian Democrats are losing one seat, yay!) I saw one of those today, and I was wondering what the fuck that was about sadly it looks like Finland just got trolled big time. |
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Post by MaybeNever on Apr 17, 2011 15:57:22 GMT -5
See what a backward place Finland is? A bunch of right-wingers got in to power thanks to popular support! America is best.
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Post by maanantai on Apr 17, 2011 16:01:18 GMT -5
I noticed yesterday, that someone had put A4-paper with troll face and "problem?" with it over the National Coalition Partys banner near my home. Made me laugh and wonder the point of it at the same time. Sadly it seems that no one from the party I voted for is getting in (But on a positive sidenote, Christian Democrats are losing one seat, yay!) I saw one of those today, and I was wondering what the fuck that was about sadly it looks like Finland just got trolled big time. Hmm... was it on a banner that was hanging from a railing of those walking bridges that go over the road? *curious* |
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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 16:04:47 GMT -5
I saw one of those today, and I was wondering what the fuck that was about sadly it looks like Finland just got trolled big time. Hmm... was it on a banner that was hanging from a railing of those walking bridges that go over the road? *curious* It was stuck on those posters behind glass you get at bus stops. |
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Post by maanantai on Apr 17, 2011 16:12:57 GMT -5
Hmm... was it on a banner that was hanging from a railing of those walking bridges that go over the road? *curious* It was stuck on those posters behind glass you get at bus stops. Oh, ok. Just asking - making sure that you're not living too close  |
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Post by dakotabob on Apr 17, 2011 16:41:32 GMT -5
It was stuck on those posters behind glass you get at bus stops. Oh, ok. Just asking - making sure that you're not living too close Don't worry, I think you're safe |
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(But on a positive sidenote, Christian Democrats are losing one seat, yay!)
