Finnish People First

Finnish People First[1] (Finnish: Suomen Kansa Ensin, SKE[2]) was a nationalist political party in Finland. It was founded in 2018[3] and de-registered in 2023 after failing to win seats in two consecutive parliamentary elections.[4] In July 2023, the party filed for bankruptcy and announced its dissolution.[5]

Finnish People First
Suomen Kansa Ensin
AbbreviationSKE
ChairpersonRiikka Salmi
SecretaryAri Lindström
Vice chairpersonKari Sunell
Founded2018 (2018)
Dissolved2023 (2023)
Split fromSuomi Ensin
HeadquartersTampere, Finland
IdeologyFinnish nationalism
Euroscepticism
Anti-immigration
Anti-Islamization
Political positionFar-right
Parliament of Finland
0 / 200
Website
skepuolue.fi
Finnish People First campaigning during SuomiAreena

History

Finnish People First originated from the Suomi Ensin ("Finland First") movement that organized a protest camp in central Helsinki in the spring of 2017.[6][7] The movement was led by Marco de Wit,[6] a YouTuber from Tampere.[8][6] The movement splintered into numerous competing factions, one of which evolved into Finnish People First,[6] also led by de Wit.[9] It was registered as an association in November 2017.[10] The association had collected the required 5,000 supporter cards by October 2018, and was admitted to the party register in December that year.[6] Soon after, the party descended into internal strife. A party conference was convened to address the issue, but only resulted in furthering the divides. The conference re-elected Marco De Wit as the party chairman, but some members of the party contested the validity of the conference.[11] Another conference in November 2019 also brought up divisions within the party, when a group of members voted a new chair at a meeting, and after the meeting was partly evicted from the premises by security, the disputed new chair decided the meeting would continue at a neighbouring room with a large part of participants while another disputed chair decided to continue the meeting at the original premises with rest of the participants.[12]

Finnish People First took part in the 2019 parliamentary election. During the campaign the party displayed campaign ads that the police investigated for criminal content.[13] No candidates were elected.[14]

Ideology

Finnish People First was extreme nationalist and anti-immigration.[15][6] It opposed Finland's membership in the European Union and the Eurozone, and would return to its former currency, the Finnish markka.[16] The party opposed NATO and what it called "harmful immigration" and "Islamization".[6] The party has been described as far-right,[17] although the way it described its position on the left–right political spectrum was ambiguous.[16]

Election results

Parliament of Finland
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Government
2019 2,366 0.08
0 / 200
 New Extra-parliamentary
2023 1,229 0.04
0 / 200
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary

Municipal elections
Election Votes  % Seats
2021 197 0.0 0

See also

References
  1. "Extra-parliamentary parties band together ahead of April elections". Yle News. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  2. "Friday's papers: Independence Day ball and demonstrations". Yle News. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  3. Tikkala, Hannu; Tolkki, Kristiina (3 April 2019). "'Hävittäjähankinnat peruttava, 1 200 euron perustulo kaikille, opintolainat nollattava' – tätä kaikkea pienpuolueet lupaavat äänestäjille". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  4. "Yhdeksän puoluetta poistettu puoluerekisteristä". Vaalit.fi (in Finnish). Ministry of Justice. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  5. "Kansallismielinen Suomen Kansa Ensin jätti konkurssihakemuksen käräjäoikeuteen". yle.fi. YLE. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. Paakkanen, Mikko (11 December 2018). "Suomeen rekisteröitiin uusi maahanmuuttovastainen puolue". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  7. "Suomeen syntyi uusi puolue – tunnetaan Rautatientorin tempauksesta". Helsingin Uutiset (in Finnish). 11 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  8. Eklund, Ville (11 December 2018). "Uusi Suomen Kansa Ensin -puolue nousi puoluerekisteriin – 18 puolueesta ainoa, jolla ei ole ruotsinkielistä nimeä". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  9. "Suomi ensin -liikkeen keulahahmo Marco de Wit aikoo rekisteröidä yhdistyksensä puolueeksi eduskuntavaaleihin". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 30 October 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  10. "PRH Yhdistysnetti". Yhdistysrekisteri (in Finnish). Patentti- ja rekisterihallitus. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  11. Pekkonen, Sanna (20 January 2019). "Vasta perustetussa Suomen Kansa Ensin -puolueessa kytee jo erimielisyyksiä: Osa uskoo, ettei puolue edes pääse vaaleihin – 'Mikään ei voi estää meitä'". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  12. "Vallankaappausyritys Suomen kansa ensin -puolueessa – puheenjohtajaksi halunnut heilui nuija kädessä kokouksessa". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  13. "Poliisi epäilee rikosta Suomen kansa ensin -puolueen kampanjoinnissa – toinen epäillyistä puolueen puheenjohtaja Marco de Wit". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). STT. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  14. "Party results". Information and Result Service. Ministry of Justice. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  15. Huusko, Markku (3 May 2019). "'Suomen pitää luopua eurosta ja ottaa käyttöön oma valuutta' - Vaalit lähestyvät, näin ehdokkaiden vastaukset vaihtelevat EU-vaalikoneessa". Talouselämä (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  16. "Kansallismielinen Suomen Kansa Ensin puoluerekisteriin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). STT. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  17. "Vasemmistoliiton Markus Mustajärvi puolustaa puheenvuoroaan äärioikeiston mielenosoittajille". Lapin Kansa (in Finnish). STT. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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