The economic crisis, the loss of purchasing power and the worsening of inequality take their toll on the ruling parties in the successive elections held in the European Union (EU). At the same time, the ultra-right manages to capitalize on the discomfort of those who consider that their daily difficulties are ignored by governments and traditional parties, with the paradox that the real economic programs of these extreme-right parties harm the popular classes they claim to defend. Finland is the new and latest example of this trend, which has been repeated in the legislative (Italy, Sweden) and regional elections of the Twenty-seven (Germany, Austria, the Netherlands).
The until now Finnish Social Democratic Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, lost the legislative elections on April 2, despite her popularity and despite winning three seats additional. The Social Democratic Party (SDP), with 19.9% of the vote, was left relegated to third force, behind the conservative National Coalition (NCP) and the far-right Finns Party, which obtained 20.8% and 20.1% of the vote. The other partners in the outgoing government ––Centre Party, Green League, Left Alliance and the liberal Finnish Swedish People’s Party–– lost 20 seats overall in a Parliament of 200 deputies.
Sanna Marin, despite having successfully piloted the security crisis created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and having achieved the rapid entry of Finland into NATO With the guarantee of defense that it entails, it was defeated by the economic deterioration and the skyrocketing price of food and energy. the finnish economy is in recession, with a contraction of the gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.1% in the third quarter of 2002 and of 0.6 in the fourth quarter. The European Commission anticipates that Finland could grow 0.2% in the whole of this year if a recovery materializes in the fourth quarter of 2023.
An investigation by Finnish public television on March 13 confirmed that the wholesale price system for electricity in the EU was responsible for the price of electricity falling. multiplied by seven in the country during 2022. The investigation highlighted that this marginalist system (the most expensive generation source sets the price) only benefited energy companies with excessive profits. The Finnish government had stood out, along with the German government and the European Commission, for its frontal opposition to the reform of the electricity price mechanism, despite the verified damage caused to the EU since June 2021.
The electoral success of the Finns Party and other ultra forces in the EU is based on their ability to capture the vote of protest and discontent, by emphasizing with populist speeches the problems of citizens, government neglect and services that do not work . But this instrumentalization of discontent contrasts with the reality of his ultra-liberal economic programs in favor of lowering taxes, which forces him to cut public spending, in addition to his authoritarian and anti-immigrant approaches.
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This is a feature shared not only by the Party of Finns and the Sweden Democrats (second political forces in their countries), but also by Brothers of Italy and the League, who govern Italy, and by the Austrian Freedom Party, which has repeatedly participated in the government. A ultra-liberal economic program It is also hiding behind the speeches of Vox in Spain, the French National Rally of Marine Le Pen, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the new Dutch Peasant-Citizen Movement (BBB), which swept the recent provincial elections and which will be the first political force in the Senate of the Netherlands.
The far-right ruling parties in Poland, Law and Justice (PiS), and in Hungary, Fidesz, are the only ones to have taken effective social measures, with the generous family allowances and allowances for each child, thanks to which the standard of living of most of their homes has improved. But the extreme right only promotes this type of aid in countries that reject non-European immigrants and asylum seekers, such as Poland and Hungary. On the contrary, in countries with a high percentage of non-European immigrants, the leaders of the extreme right, such as Marine Le Pen, defend cut those aids for foreigners.