European elections: Soini Libertas candidate?

The True Finns (Perussuomalaiset) dropped Jussi Halla-aho, under prosecution for xenophobic blogging, from their list of candidates in the European elections in June 2009.

Party chairman Timo Soini ─ one of the signatories of Libertas’s failed application for recognition as a political party at European level and for funding from the European Parliament ─ stepped into the breach by launching his own candidacy, despite his earlier rejection of the idea.

The True Finns tout the European elections as a last call to prevent the Treaty of Lisbon from entering into force:

http://www.perussuomalaiset.fi/ajankohtaista/?issue=137

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Question marks

Interestingly, Libertas is not mentioned, although Soini has conceded earlier that an elected True Finn MEP might join them in a parliamentary group in the European Parliament.

The reasons may be tactical, since it may be harder to attract nationalistic voters under a pan-European umbrella.

Nothing is, of course, said about possible campaign contributions from Libertas.

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Media scene

A quick scan of the web versions of Finnish main media (Helsingin Sanomat, Hufvudstadsbladet, YLE) revealed no critical questions about the possible European links of the True Finns’ campaign, just Soini’s well-known anti-EU message and discussion about the reasons for dropping Halla-aho. See for instance YLE ‘Charges for True Finns Councillor Over Racist Blog Comments’ (last update 28 March 2009):

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/03/charges_for_true_finns_councillor_over_racist_blog_comments_645781.html

Are the media in Finland as uninterested as the general public is oblivious of possible European connections? The elections are European, aren’t they?

Ralf Grahn

Soini owns up to joining Libertas

At least one safe member for Libertas.

Battered Declan Ganley and Libertas can take heart after relatively good news from Finland. Asked by the daily Helsingin Sanomat, Timo Soini, MP and Chairman of the True Finns (Perussuomalaiset), owns up to joining the (potentially) pan-European political party Libertas.

Chairman Soini stresses that he has joined in a personal capacity and that the True Finns are not engaged as a party.

Libertas may need some good news. First the Estonian MP Igor Gräzin announced that he was not a member, bringing Libertas down from the number of elected officials in seven member states needed for status and funding as a political party at European level, or Europarty.

Gräzin was then followed by Bulgarian MP Mincho Hristov Kuminev, who has denied signing on for Libertas, as reported by EurActiv.


Ralf Grahn

Is Libertas a European level party?

According to media reports the pan-European Libertas party has filed an application for EU funding. We have been told that the party consists of a few politicians from member states of the European Union.

Leaving their pan-European credentials aside for the moment, the sketchy reports offer little on if Libertas really fulfils the criteria for funding as a political party at European level.

Nothing was found on the web pages of Libertas this evening.

Let us look at the criteria, as set out in the Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding.

The consolidated version Regulation 2004/2003 (of 27 December 2007) is available here:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2003R2004:20071227:EN:PDF

The following criteria are mentioned:
Article 2
Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

1. ‘political party’ means an association of citizens:

— which pursues political objectives, and

— which is either recognised by, or established in accordance with, the legal order of at least one Member State;

2. ‘alliance of political parties’ means structured cooperation between at least two political parties;

3. ‘political party at European level’ means a political party or an alliance of political parties which satisfies the conditions referred to in Article 3;
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Article 3
Conditions

1. A political party at European level shall satisfy the following conditions:

(a) it must have legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located;

(b) it must be represented, in at least one quarter of Member States, by Members of the European Parliament or in the national Parliaments or regional Parliaments or in the regional assemblies, or it must have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least three per cent of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent European Parliament elections;

(c) it must observe, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the principles on which the European Union is founded, namely the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law;

(d) it must have participated in elections to the European Parliament, or have expressed the intention to do so.
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Criteria

In short: Representation in a quarter of the EU member states (7) is enough and a coalition of political parties will do.

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True Finns

One of the party members or representatives mentioned publicly is Timo Soini, Chairman of the True Finns (Perussuomalaiset), a political party with five members of Parliament.

Interestingly enough, a few moment ago the web pages of the True Finns and the parliamentary group failed to mention that the party has become the national Libertas or even joined a coalition with Libertas. Not a word about an alliance on Chairman Soini’s blog.

In other words, if the True Finns have made a decision about Libertas, they have kept it secret.

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This brings us back to Regulation 2004/2003 and the funding criteria. Can a party be said to be represented by elected politicians in a member state, if the national or coalition party’s allegiance is unknown where it operates?

A second possibility might be that Timo Soini MP is a member of Libertas EU directly. But shouldn’t he have told his less than integrationist supporters in Finland if he has joined a pan-European political party?

Possibly, everything will be sorted out, but Libertas’ application seems to deserve thorough vetting before approval.

I hope that all actors step up their communication efforts until the matter is crystal clear.


Ralf Grahn

Europe: Populism or democracy?

Ahead of the European elections in June 2009, we have seen two political trends. One the one hand, after the historic EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 and since the beginning of the current Commission, the communitarian spirit seems to have ceded to increasing intergovernmentalism and national self-interest. The financial turmoil has accelerated both nationalistic responses and intergovernmental summiteering, with various ‘ad hoc’ initiatives thrown in for good measure. The Treaty of Lisbon would have brought some belated efficiency gains after the expansion to 27 members, but the Lisbon Treaty fails miserably in creating a European level democracy.

On the other hand, popular estrangement has increasingly favoured nationalistic and populist parties in national and sub-national elections. Referendums, purportedly on pan-European issues like the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty, have boosted anti-reformist and self-absorbed movements, left or right, in France, the Netherlands and Ireland.

Municipal elections in Finland are hardly hot stuff for international media generally, but the spectacular gains by the populist True Finns are the latest indication of anti-European sentiments on the rise. Although the True Finns captured less than six per cent of the vote, their swayed almost six times as many voters as four years ago.

The International Edition of Helsingin Sanomat has more:

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/MUNICIPAL+ELECTIONS+SUNDAY+2345+National+Coalition+Party+largest+party+True+Finns+big+winners+gains+for+Greens+/1135240557573

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More than ever, pan-European solutions and actions are needed to enhance our security and to regain our prosperity, but populations are increasingly rejecting the European leaders’ intergovernmentalist and functionalist project.

The group of wise persons has been expressly forbidden to even think about so called institutional issues, but today’s challenges do not call for institutional tinkering in the customary manner.

The wise persons ─ and the European leaders ─ have to look at the foundations of the European project. Without democratic legitimacy and accountability the European Union is running aground. Only a European Union based on its citizens can give us the foundations we need to weather the storms.


Ralf Grahn