Metropolitan.fi Helsinki Metropolitan Area - News and Current Affairs from Finland

Sofi Oksanen, a Finnish author, was quoted as saying by Italian daily La Repubblica on Tuesday that half a million of her compatriots had voted for a party that drew inspiration from Adolf Hitler.

“In the field of arts his ideas are clearly inspired by Hitler,” Oksanen was quoted as saying about Timo Soini, the leader of the True Finns party.

La Repubblica’s interview with Oksanen formed part of a broader story on the rise of the extreme right in Europe.

Jyrki Katainen, the leader of the Finnish National Coalition party and the country’s finance minister, on Wednesday handed seven questions to potential ruling partners, marking the beginning of the process of forming a coalition government.

In one question, Katainen asked whether the Social Democrats and the True Finns, parties that had ridden on Portugal bailout-sceptical platforms in the general election, would honour Finland’s previous commitments to help stabilise the eurozone.

The other questions probe the parties’ positions on public finances, taxes, spending cuts and measures to keep people working longer than before.

The True Finns party on Wednesday named Jussi Halla-aho chair of the parliamentary administration committee.

The administration committee is tasked with immigration policy as well as with a range of other issues.

The appointment is sure to spark debate as Halla-aho is an outspoken critic of Finland’s immigration policy.

Timo Soini, the True Finns leader, said Halla-aho had volunteered for the post and had received a lot of support within the parliamentary group.

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia said in a statement Wednesday it would cut its global workforce by about 4,000 people by the end of next year.

Nokia added it planned to cut about 1,400 jobs in Finland.

The Espoo-based company said in another statement it would outsource its Symbian operating system arm to Accenture, with about 3,000 Nokia staff becoming employees of the outsourcing company.

Olli Rehn, the EU’s economy commissioner, said in Helsinki on Tuesday that Finland should not hanker for Greek, Irish and Portuguese debt restructuring.

Rehn, a Finn, added that restructuring would be like a hangover drink that would give temporary relief but not help the three countries kick the habit for good.

“If finance aid is able to prevent a new Lehman-type crisis from happening, which has been the case thus far, the risk involved in the loan and guarantee decisions has been in Finland’s interests,” Rehn said.

About 900 people took part in a demonstration against nuclear power in central Helsinki on Tuesday.

The environmental groups that staged the demonstration said they wanted to remind Finnish MPs and the next government about the dangers of nuclear power on the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

“The new Parliament now has a majority of MPs who have promised not to issue a single new nuclear power permit,” said Jehki Härkönen, a Greenpeace energy campaigner.