Being in power but refusing to join the elite: The case of the Finns Party

An assumption quite widely accepted in both academic wider societal debates is that Populist Radical Right (PRR) parties are natural parties for opposition (Albertazzi and McDonnell 2015, pp. 2-3). Even if they were able to win elections, many consider them to be neither durable nor sustainable parties in government (see for instance Mény and Surel 2002). While their protest politics built on grievances of the “forgotten people” might naturally lend itself to opposition politics, there are a number of opportunities of observing populist parties in government and the rhetoric and discursive strategies they adopt in order to remain in power and avoid crashing and burning. In Finland, previously one of the exceptional European countries with no established populist parties with mass appeal, the Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) entered a centre-right government coalition following parliamentary elections in 2015. This was not necessarily a hugely popular decision among their supporters but was clearly an ambition for the party leadership ever since the “big bang” victory of 2011. As an outcome, their leading politicians found themselves in the very heart of Finnish politics, rather than being the back row hecklers behind the political arena. While we cannot yet verify if they will confirm Mény and Surel’s claim of lack of durability and sustainability in government, we can already look at the different coping strategies the party has had in relation to its new and previously unknown territory along the corridors of power. Using a few key incidents around immigration as cases in point, the paper argues that the Finns Party has faced a challenge in maintaining its position and has found it relatively difficult to modify its rhetoric from opposition to government without losing its anti-establishment appeal. Partly what the party has done is de-radicalize and professionalize some areas of its political strategy, for instance taking more ownership of foreign and security policy. It has also strategically diffused some other areas. Timo Soini, the leader of the party and current Foreign Minister has performed the role of the statesman, distancing himself from the day to day running of the party, leaving the management of the more sensitive issues around the incidents provoked mainly by the party’s vocal anti-immigration wing to the leader of the parliamentary party and the party office. This has clearly also contributed towards institutionalizing the party away from being a “one man show”, as responsibilities have been allocated to a wider set of (capable) actors. The paper is based on qualitative content analysis of speeches and writings of party leadership during its first year in government.