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| Finnish coalition at risk after party elects far right leader | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Finland’s prime minister, Juha Sipila, has moved to break up the country’s three-party coalition government after a junior partner, the nationalist True Finns party, elected an anti-immigration hardliner as its new leader. | Finland’s prime minister, Juha Sipila, has moved to break up the country’s three-party coalition government after a junior partner, the nationalist True Finns party, elected an anti-immigration hardliner as its new leader. |
| The True Finns, the second-biggest party in the coalition, had over the weekend picked MEP Jussi Halla-aho as its new leader, a move set to take the moderately nationalist party closer towards radical right-wing populism. | The True Finns, the second-biggest party in the coalition, had over the weekend picked MEP Jussi Halla-aho as its new leader, a move set to take the moderately nationalist party closer towards radical right-wing populism. |
| Reacting to the news, Sipila, of the liberal Centre party, wrote on Twitter: “Discussions are over. Our proposal: There are is no basis for continuing cooperation with Finns party.” The comment was echoed by the finance minister, Petteri Orpo, leader of the third coalition partner, the pro-EU National Coalition party. | Reacting to the news, Sipila, of the liberal Centre party, wrote on Twitter: “Discussions are over. Our proposal: There are is no basis for continuing cooperation with Finns party.” The comment was echoed by the finance minister, Petteri Orpo, leader of the third coalition partner, the pro-EU National Coalition party. |
| Halla-aho, who argues Finland would be better off outside the European Union, was in 2012 fined €400 by the country’s supreme court for disturbing religious worship and ethnic agitation over comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft. | Halla-aho, who argues Finland would be better off outside the European Union, was in 2012 fined €400 by the country’s supreme court for disturbing religious worship and ethnic agitation over comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft. |
| Halla-aho has proposed sanctions against organisations that rescue refugees and immigrants from the Mediterranean, saying it encourages movement from Africa to Europe. | Halla-aho has proposed sanctions against organisations that rescue refugees and immigrants from the Mediterranean, saying it encourages movement from Africa to Europe. |
| A September 2011 Facebook post in which Halla-aho wrote that Greece’s debt problems could not be solved without a military junta led to a temporary suspension from his party, then fronted by Timo Soini. | A September 2011 Facebook post in which Halla-aho wrote that Greece’s debt problems could not be solved without a military junta led to a temporary suspension from his party, then fronted by Timo Soini. |
| Sipila is to announce later on Monday the fate of his centre-right majority government, which took office in May 2015. | Sipila is to announce later on Monday the fate of his centre-right majority government, which took office in May 2015. |
| Since snap elections are relatively unusual in Scandinavian countries, the Centre party is expected to form a new coalition government in which two smaller parties – the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People’s party – replace the True Finns. Both parties have said they are ready to negotiate. | Since snap elections are relatively unusual in Scandinavian countries, the Centre party is expected to form a new coalition government in which two smaller parties – the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People’s party – replace the True Finns. Both parties have said they are ready to negotiate. |
| Without the True Finns, the Centre and National Coalition parties together hold just 86 of the Finnish parliament’s 200 seats – an unusually weak administration in a country historically run by coalition governments with strong majorities. | Without the True Finns, the Centre and National Coalition parties together hold just 86 of the Finnish parliament’s 200 seats – an unusually weak administration in a country historically run by coalition governments with strong majorities. |
| Adding the Christian Democrats and Swedish People’s party could give the remaining coalition government a slim majority of 101 seats. | Adding the Christian Democrats and Swedish People’s party could give the remaining coalition government a slim majority of 101 seats. |