Tag Archives: Finland

Three-party coalition government in Finland
by Kristofer Jäntti After brief negotiations, the Centre Party Chief Juha Sipilä, finally announced the composition for the Finnish government. The government will be formed by the three largest parties: The Centre Party, the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party. This coalition boots the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats into opposition as well as ends […]

Centre Party destined to win Finnish Parliamentary elections
by Kristofer Jäntti The Finns will be choosing a new government in the upcoming parliamentary elections this Sunday. The most recent polls show that the Centre Party will become the largest part with 24% of the vote, securing itself the Prime Minister’s portfolio as dictated by Finnish political convention. Behind the Centre Party, there is a […]

Finnish Literature in the Spotlight
Outside of Finland, Finnish literature is something that has been largely neglected. To some extent this is related to the fact that only a small fraction of Finnish literature has been translated into English – although a greater number of Finnish books is available in German, Estonian or French, for example. And perhaps it would […]

Eyewitness: Reminiscing Baltic Summers
This summer our editors have been busy crossing the Baltic Sea…

Tales of happiness, salty licorice and gender equality: Michael Booth’s The Almost Nearly Perfect People – The Truth About The Nordic Miracle
by Anna-Cara Keim When asking a person outside of Scandinavia what they know about the Nordic lands people’s associations seldom reach beyond Vikings, the welfare state, Danish television crime epics, Ikea and popular music. ‘But why is that?’ asks British journalist Michael Booth, himself a resident of Denmark, when he sets out on a trip […]
The Finnish Far Right Part 2: The Rise of the (True) Finns
In February we published the first part of this 2-part on the rise of the far right and populist parties in Finland. In the first part of the series our author Kristofer Jäntti focused on the rise of the Lapua movement. Now he examines the rise of the populist Finns party. History After the IKL […]
Eyewitness: Winter in Finland
Every year we are trying to encourage our readers and correspondents to send us their best winter snapshots from all around the Baltic rim. However, it seems that most contributions come from Kuopio in Northern Savonia, Finland. The image below features the Puijo Tower. Its revolving restaurant makes the 75 meter high observation tower one […]

The Finnish Far Right Part 1: The Lapua Movement
by Kristofer Jäntti Introduction to the Series ‘A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of Populism’. Since the 1980’s Europe seems to be in the grips of a ‘populist zeitgeist’. It manifests itself in the success of organisations such as Jean Marie Le Pen’s Front National in France or Geert Wilder’s Party of Freedom in […]

Looking for All Things Nordic? The Nordic Bakery in London
by Anna-Cara Keim Who doesn’t like a crusty and sweet cinnamon bun and a good, strong cup of coffee served in a chic, but relaxing environment? This must have been exactly what Jahli Wahlsten must have thought when he set out to open his first Scandinavian style café on Golden Square in Soho in 2007. […]

The ‘Finnification’ of The Sami People: A Silenced History
by Jesse Hirvelä The Sami are arguably the only indigenous people within the European Union. They are concentrated in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. They share a common language and distinguishable traditions dating back thousands of years. The Sami heritage became threatened when Finland started rebuilding herself […]