Finland, erstwhile joining NATO, completely breaks the policy of actual neutrality. The Left Alliance, the left opposition there, speaks skeptically about the effects of the country's accession to the alliance. We discussed this with Antero Eerola, a leftist politician.
In national affairs, not in abroad policy.
– There is now a extremist change in the direction of the country's improvement in Finnish politics. A fresh government coalition was formed. Soon, his second presidential word will end with Sauli Niinistö. The Left Alliance was part of a erstwhile government coalition. How do you justice that government?
– We have achieved much in interior policy. Above all, we have managed to rise the standard of living: we have increased pensions, we have invested in education, we have carried out a number of reforms in education and social policy, the percent of people employed has increased. However, processes independent of us influenced the coalition's actions. It was a pandemic and a war in Ukraine. Cabinet Sanny Marin He did well, led Finland through a pandemic, uncovering the balance between the essential constraints and leaving the public open at the same time.
Another issue is what started in Ukraine on 24 February last year. After these events, the government supported the accession to NATO, which I consider a large mistake. Among those fewer parliamentarians who voted against membership in the alliance, almost everyone represented our party, although about half of our representatives voted in favour.
In general, therefore, steps have been taken in interior matters towards building a state of prosperity available to all countries, and a mistake has been made in abroad policy, safety and defence. In my opinion, it would be better to stick to a long tradition of average approach.
President under pressure
– And how do you justice the activities of president Sauli Niinistö?
– He was a good president almost throughout his term, until he supported joining NATO. Niinistö was able for a long time to keep a balance between the West and the East, enjoying considerable authority among planet leaders. As shortly as the crisis in Ukraine began in spring 2014, he was the only head of state to visit Moscow first and later Ukraine. And he actually played a function as a mediator, trying to find a solution to this conflict. It was for his presidency that a summit gathering took place in Helsinki. Vladimir Putin au Donald Trump. Niinistö played a constructive role. But everything changed last spring. Of course, he was under force from outside...
The fresh coalition presented a program that sparked broad criticism immediately after the publication of his project. The announcement of the fresh government of cuts in social spending and the sharp tightening of conditions for migration to Finland was peculiarly powerfully criticised.
Coalition friction
– Why does the coalition request restrictions on immigration?
– Only due to the fact that the coalition's far-right party, the actual Finns, advocates limiting all migration. We must remember that they are against any immigration. And this is simply a postulate motivated ideologically, not economically. And this is to any degree contrary to the demands of their coalition partners – the National Coalition organization (Kokoomis) which represents the interests of the large capital curious in inexpensive labour.
At the same time, there was a scandal in the media. individual has published the old texts of current ministers on behalf of the Real Finns, in which racist themes appear, and this in turn has provoked harsh criticism of another members of the coalition – the Swedish People's Party. The minister of economy had to resign after only 11 days of office, erstwhile it turned out that he had not even hidden his sympathy for the Nazis. We, the left, have known about them for a long time, but for mainstream media, for any reason, it was a surprise.
Finnish War Party
– How does the Finns and your party, the Left Alliance, see the anticipation of ending the conflict in Ukraine?
– There is presently no discussion in Finnish society on how to end the war in Ukraine. I would say that there is an unwarranted belief that Ukraine will yet win in this war and reconstruct control of the 1991 borders, although it is completely detached from reality.
In the Finnish media, they don't even compose about any peace initiatives or even a ceasefire, even though specified initiatives proceed to appear, for example, from Brazil, China and even Africa. American media is inactive discussing how to find a way out of the current situation. There are classified negotiations between the United States and Russia, as we have learned from the media there, from NBC. Meanwhile, we have the impression that all we want is simply a continuation of the war.
Americans go to Scandinavia
– Is expanding the importance of the right a pan-European trend?
– In a sense, yes, what we see from the example Marine Le Pen in France, Italy, Sweden, alternatives to Germany in Germany. However, we should discuss this phenomenon without opposition and in the context of Ukraine, while avoiding Russian propaganda. The influence of the far right in Ukraine is simply a serious problem. It cannot be said that the government or the president is part of it, but its impact on Ukrainian society is not small.
– What will Finland's future in NATO look like? Is there going to be NATO bases or atomic weapons? How do the Finns and their authorities see this?
– According to public opinion polls, the vast majority of Finns stand up against NATO military bases and the deployment of atomic weapons in Finland. Unfortunately, membership of the alliance does not impose any restrictions in this respect, so it is possible for them to emerge, although it is improbable to happen.
Will Finland be active in planning NATO's atomic policy? Yeah. Will she be active in atomic weapons transfer exercises? Yes, it will. At the same time, Finnish fighters, specified as F-35, will be able to defend aircraft flights with specified weapons on board, ships with specified weapons will be able to fly to Finnish ports. However, the direct deployment of atomic warhead missiles in Finland is inactive unlikely. There are presently talks on the US-Finnish Agreement under which US troops will gain access to Finnish bases. specified agreements already exist, for example, between Norway and the United States. Negotiations are besides underway with Sweden and Denmark, which besides want to open their bases for Americans.
The conversation was conducted by Alexander Koen.
Antero Eerola – journalist, journalist, unionist and self-governmentist. City councillor Vantaa for the Left Alliance, associate of Uusimaa Region Council.
