Finnish Enough: The Rise, Rule, and Reckoning of the Finns Party
In a nation built on consensus and quiet pragmatism, the Finns Party has redrawn the limits of debate.
Finland, long seen as one of Europe’s most stable democracies, has spent the past decade contending with a political force that refuses to play by Nordic rules. The Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) — nationalist, Eurosceptic, and proudly anti-establishment — has grown from rural protest movement to one of the country’s governing powers.
Having entered the 2023 elections with a sharpened message and a streamlined leadership under Riikka Purra, the party won over 20% of the vote and joined Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s centre-right coalition. With seven ministers and sweeping influence over immigration and environmental policy, the Finns Party is now embedded in government. But with governing power has come political gravity — and with it, a sharp drop in popularity and a crisis of purpose.
Once dismissed as a protest vote, the Finns Party has become something more ambiguous: both a party of disruption and one of administration. The balance is proving difficult to maintain.
From Peripheral Agitators to National Stakeholders
The Finns Party’s roots lie in the Finnish Rural Party, a populist formation from the mid-20th century that faded into bankruptcy by the 1990s. In 1995, former MPs from that party — led by Timo Soini — founded Perussuomalaiset as a vehicle for rural discontent, welfare protection, and anti-EU sentiment. For years it lingered below the radar, mocked as parochial and unfocused.
That changed in 2011, when a surge of anti-bailout sentiment in the wake of the Eurozone crisis catapulted the party to 19% of the vote. It presented itself not as anti-democratic, but anti-elite — blending opposition to immigration with robust defence of the Finnish welfare state, but only for those deemed part of the cultural in-group.
Soini’s avuncular populism was replaced in 2017 by a harder-edged nationalism under Jussi Halla-aho, a former MEP and Helsinki city councillor with a background in anti-immigration blogging and academic linguistics. When the party veered too far right for coalition partners, it split — moderates left to form Blue Reform, and Halla-aho’s faction kept the name and most of the base.
In 2021, leadership passed to Riikka Purra, a former political secretary known for her crisp rhetorical style and firm ideological footing. Under Purra, the Finns Party pursued respectability without moderation — and began preparing for government.
The Ideological Formula: Welfare Nationalism 2.0
At the core of the Finns Party’s platform lies a simple proposition: generous state services are possible, but only if restricted to the culturally defined “Finnish” population.
This manifests in several key priorities:
Immigration restrictions, including tightened asylum procedures, reduced family reunifications, and cultural integration tests
Welfare protectionism, opposing benefits for non-citizens or recent arrivals
Energy and climate scepticism, favouring peat subsidies and opposing green levies seen as burdens on rural communities
Cultural conservatism, including opposition to “gender ideology,” support for Christian traditions, and the abolition of mandatory Swedish-language instruction
Mild Euroscepticism, opposing deeper EU integration while supporting security cooperation in light of Russian aggression
The party’s tone has varied by audience. Abroad, it presents itself as a respectable nationalist force akin to Sweden Democrats or Denmark’s DF. Domestically, its base is fed a more pugilistic tone: warnings about cultural erosion, creeping Islamisation, and progressive overreach.
Power, at a Cost
When the Finns Party entered the Orpo-led government in June 2023, it secured significant concessions: a sharp tightening of immigration rules, a softening of Finland’s climate ambitions, and influence over budgetary priorities.
But compromise came at a cost. The party supported austerity measures — including cuts to public services and labour reforms — that alienated its own working-class voters. Meanwhile, scandals surrounding racially charged blog posts by ministers, including Purra herself, drew widespread criticism and dented the party’s claim to legitimacy.
The fallout came in 2025. In regional and municipal elections that April, the Finns Party suffered a dramatic collapse, falling to under 8% — its worst showing since entering mainstream politics. The Social Democrats surged, while the Greens and Left Alliance regained ground.
From protest to power to punishment — all within a single electoral cycle.
The Far-Right Flank: Threat or Temptation?
The Finns Party is now caught in a familiar bind: it must choose between coalition responsibility and the temptation to flirt with more radical offshoots.
Splinter movements like Power Belongs to the People and the recently re-registered Blue-Black Movement — a far-right group with roots in identitarian nationalism — are positioning themselves to its right. Opponents contend that dozens of Finns Party activists have been linked to the latter, raising questions about ideological boundaries.
The party’s official stance remains disavowal — it condemns racism and extremism — but critics argue that it continues to dog-whistle to hardliners while policing only the optics, not the content.
A Legacy Beyond Numbers
Even if the Finns Party declines further in the polls, its long-term impact is already visible. It has pulled Finnish politics rightward — not only on immigration, but on energy, identity, and welfare conditionality. Mainstream parties now echo its concerns about national cohesion, EU centralisation, and “Finnish values.”
It has become less a challenger to the system than an author of its evolving consensus.
Yet the party’s future remains uncertain. Can it continue to wield power without losing its anti-elite appeal? Can it satisfy both rural pensioners and radicalised youth wings? And can it govern a Nordic welfare state while embracing economic policies that undermine it?
These are questions the Finns Party has yet to answer.
Nordic, but Not Neutral
The Finns Party has always been more mirror than movement — reflecting fears about identity, change, and sovereignty that cut across Finnish society. In doing so, it has outlived multiple leaders, absorbed internal schisms, and pushed the Overton window without fully shattering it.
Whether it becomes a permanent fixture or a cautionary tale will depend on its ability to navigate the contradictions of power — and whether Finnish voters are willing to be governed by a party whose very appeal lies in its claim not to govern, but to resist.
For now, the Finns Party finds itself in the difficult position of having won too much, too soon — and learning, like many populists before it, that governing a quiet country is harder than shouting in a loud one.