Finns Party Comes Second In Finland Parlimentary Elections

The Finns Party came second in the Sunday parliamentary election in Finland having gained 17.5 percent of the vote, only 0.2 percent less than the leader, the Social Democratic Party

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2019) The Finns Party came second in the Sunday parliamentary election in Finland having gained 17.5 percent of the vote, only 0.2 percent less than the leader, the Social Democratic Party.

The Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) was founded in Helsinki in May 1995.

There were alternative translations of the party name, such as the True Finns, Ordinary Finns or Basic Finns, but since the fall of 2011, the official name of the party is translated into English as the Finns Party.

Raimo Vistbacka was the founder and the leader (1995-1997) of the Finns Party. Timo Soini headed the party in 1997 but was replaced by Jussi Halla-aho in 2017.

According to the party statute, its main goal is to unite on a Christian social basis "those population groups whose interests and socially, economically and societally equal status have not been justly taken care of."

Since its creation, the party has been gradually increasing its electoral power.

In the parliamentary election in 2003, it received 1.3 percent of the vote, while in 2007 it gathered 4.1 percent.

The 2011 parliamentary election became a new milestone in its history.

The Finns Party enlisted the support of 19.1 percent of voters, which allowed them to get 39 of 200 seats in parliament.

According to the results of the parliamentary election in 2015, the party received 17.6 percent of vote and its representation in the parliament decreased to 38 lawmakers. After this election, the Finns Party received four ministerial portfolios, including the two key portfolios of the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.

In 2009, the Finns Party won the European Parliament election, gaining 9.8 percent of the vote. In 2014, the party received 12.9 percent of the vote.

Soini twice participated in the Finnish presidential election. In 2006, 3.4 percent of the voters supported him, while in 2012 he gained 9.4 percent of the vote.

In 2017, the Finns Party faced a split. Some lawmakers left the parliamentary group and founded their own parliamentary group called New Alternative, which subsequently turned into the Blue Reform party.

Following the Sunday general election, the Finns Party received 39 out of 200 seats in the parliament.