by http://SportToday.org/
Nationalists' surge in Finland hits Euro
Vaiju Naravane
Paris: A Euro sceptic party, the True Finns jumped into third place in
Sunday's parliamentary elections in Finland, winning a record 39 seats in
the 200-member assembly. The party, which held just five seats in the
outgoing Parliament, is almost certain to become a part of a new governing
coalition in Helsinki.
The True Finns Party, which campaigned on a platform of stringent fiscal and
immigration controls in the European Union, trailed traditional parties like
the outgoing conservative National Coalition party and the opposition Social
Democrats by just a couple of percentage points. The True Finns' share of
the vote soared from 4.1 per cent to 19 per cent, due partly to the collapse
of the Centre Party which was a member of the outgoing coalition and which
has now been relegated to fourth place.
The Euro nosedived against the dollar and other currencies as the news of
the stunning elect***upset came in. Finland's new political landscape
might jeopardise economic bailout packages for governments like that of
Greece or Portugal which are facing huge and unmanageable deficits.
The True Finns said they could use their veto to block any EU legislation
giving more aid to ailing and failing European economies. The party has
described countries from southern Europe as lazy lotus eaters who do not
deserve costly bailouts.