Posted on 04/17/2011 12:13:33 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
He's a Millwall supporter from the far northern reaches of the EU. And he's sending a shudder through Brussels. Harriet Alexander meets Timo Soini - the man making Finland's election exciting.
As his train rolls through Finland, passing log cabins nestled among snowy pine forests, Timo Soini concludes that his country hasn't got much in common with Greece or Portugal.
They might be good for sunny holidays, to escape Finland's eight weeks of solid winter darkness, but their way of life is a world away from this most northern point of the EU.
And when their leaders come knocking for a bailout which could cost Finnish taxpayers a billion euros, as a result of excessive state spending, the cautious Finns feel understandably aggrieved.
Mr Soini, 48, however, is in the unusual position of being able to do something about it.
As Finns go to the polls on Sunday, and the EU is debating an €80bn bailout of Portugal, Mr Soini's euro-sceptic True Finns party is promising to derail the deal if they win a stake in Finland's coalition goverment.
"The party is over," he said. "Why should Finland bail anyone out? We won't allow Finnish cows to be milked by other hands."
Finland, unlike the other 16 other euro zone members, puts requests for major EU decisions - such as decisions on bailout funds - to a majority vote in parliament. And with the True Finns tipped to gain up to 20 per cent of the ballot, the small Nordic nation could become an unlikely headache for the European Union.
The bailout may eventually be passed, but Mr Soini's party could certainly delay the proceedings for many months – causing further uncertaintly about the euro-project and illustrating the bitter divisions that the rescue package has exposed.
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(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
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The Eurosceptic movement is growing exponentially...
yitbos
His honesty will not go unpunished. He is already being attacked by the Euroscum as being 'xenophobic" and "racist" just because he places Finland first in his priorities.
In Austria, the powers that be did force a political party to oust their leader.
Michael Savage, they just declared him persona non-gratis.
There have to be more examples of pros/prersecution. I think they call it "inciteful speach".yitbos
I am half Finnish, and look a heck of a lot like this guy! He must be a genius!
Unfortunately he looks like a walking heart attack waiting to happen
“His party, with its rejection of European integration, dislike of the euro, and anti-immigration rhetoric has certainly attracted a smattering of unsavoury hard-Right extremists.”
____________
Unsavoury? Hard-Right? Extremists?
Only to socialists, journalists and Marxists. But I repeat myself...
- JP
Yeah, I always pictured Finns as wiry with broad cheekboned faces, like the Finnish army that nearly defeated the russkies in 1940 (their saying: “So many Russians. Where will we bury them all?”)
Those cheekbones look especially great on Finnish women.
“At my old frat we called that a pitcher not a stein.”
Wether a pitcher or stein...it seems to have a positive effect on common sense.
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