Why Does the Political Green-Left Lie, and Why Does It Resonate with the People?

Today we saw a textbook example of the rhetoric employed by the political green-left. This concerns the chair of the Green Party, Sofia Virta (Green), who commented on Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) statement that the Finnish right wing government will not cut state spending beyond the previously decided nine billion euros.

Virta claimed that "this is purely an election speech" and suggested that the government would resume making spending cuts immediately after the county elections and municipal elections in April. She was supported in this by the chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group, Oras Tynkkynen, who speculated that "if the main government parties go into these elections without revealing everything about the policies they plan to pursue in the coming years, it is problematic for democracy."

Virta also made another odd comment. She claimed that Orpo's statements contradict earlier comments by Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (Finns Party) regarding budget cuts. This was based on a Green Party press release that alleged the Finance Minister had stated in December that further cuts would be needed in the spring budget negotiations.

In reality, however, Purra did not say this. She had earlier noted that additional savings could be made in the spring if necessary but recently added that "this political coalition does not appear to have the capability to identify significantly more savings."

The comments by the Greens and their leaders are an unfortunate example of a phenomenon that has become increasingly common in green-left rhetoric in recent years: outright lying to voters. 

The most striking example of this was seen a few years ago, when the then-chair of the Left Alliance's parliamentary group, Paavo Arhinmäki, told voters that the state never has to repay its debts and emphasized that Finland barely pays any interest on them. The truth, however, is that the Finnish government paid as much as 3 billion euros in interest alone in 2024, meaning that a third of the savings previously made by the state administration was spent solely on that.

However, there’s no need to wonder about the Greens' and the broader green-left's comments, as they have recently helped to boost their support. This is evident in the latest party approval poll, which indicates that the combined support for the governing coalition parties has dropped to 42.4%.

For this reason, rational people should focus less on the green-left’s rhetoric and more on their supporters. In other words, we must try to understand why they allow themselves to be swayed by deceptive rhetoric and, after enlightenment, address the problem one way or another.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The Green Movement of Finland is Lost
The stabbing of the 12-year-old led to political revelry among the left in Finland
Challenges of democracy: Reflections on political violence and rhetoric in Finnish politics

The Green Movement of Finland is Lost

As my esteemed reader knows, Finland currently has a right-wing government that came to power a little over a year ago. Its task is to address the economic distress created by the previous center-left government, which scattered taxpayers' money with abandon. While the results are still modest, decisions have been made, and over time they promise to balance the public budget and kickstart economic growth, which has stagnated for a decade and a half.

In this regard, the situation is interesting because the Finnish green-left has been unable to do anything but criticize the government's decisions, without offering any alternatives. The most intriguing case is that of the Green Party, which has over the years drifted to the far left.

Its chairwoman, Sofia Virta, has repeatedly stated that her practically sole goal is to bring down the government. In the same breath, she has addressed issues related to humanitarian immigration, such as street violence, claiming that "the Finns Party doesn’t want to solve these problems. Their support is based on them."

This is strange, because it is precisely the Finns Party that has wanted to limit humanitarian immigration to a level where newcomers can be integrated into Finnish society. They have also criticized the provision of unconditional – and thus demotivating – social benefits to spontaneous immigrants.

Additionally, Virta has claimed that "the prime minister probably doesn’t lose a second of sleep worrying about how to get health centers and public services to function." This is, of course, a blatant lie, as it was the previous government—of which the Greens were a part—that carried out a healthcare reform that led to the collapse of the system. The current government has been particularly focused on correcting the mistakes made earlier.

Each individual can draw their own conclusions about the reasons behind the Green Party chairwoman's rhetoric. Personally, I suspect it is a panicked, primal reaction to the fact that the Greens’ support, which at its peak had one in six Finns behind it, has now dropped to half of that.

Sofia Virta will have no political future if this trend doesn’t reverse during her tenure. And, of course, it’s impossible to imagine that happening with the methods she’s currently employing. This is because, in Finland, smearing political opponents has never been valued; instead, constructive proposals and presenting alternatives are appreciated.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Will Orpo's Government Restore Finland to Sustainable Economic Growth?
Healthcare Services for Undocumented Immigrants are a Pull Factor for Harmful Immigration
Putin's useful idiots in Finland

The stabbing of the 12-year-old led to political revelry among the left in Finland

There were two stabbings in the same town in Finland on the same day. In one of the cases, a person of immigrant background fatally stabbed an adult man.

In the other case, a well-known, notoriously violent Nazi, who despite multiple violent crimes was - according to Finnish legal practice - allowed to walk free, stabbed a 12-year-old immigrant child from behind. As of this writing, the child is alive and the Nazi is in police custody.

In due course, the judiciary will determine how soon he will be free again to continue his dangerous behavior towards his fellow citizens.

* * *

Of the two stabbings I mentioned earlier, it is the latter case that has received significant attention, and the identity of the perpetrator has been unusually reported because 'it is a serious act of societal significance, and the suspect has previously been convicted of far-right activities.' From this, one could infer that the killing/murder I mentioned first was not considered serious or of societal significance by the journalists writing about it, despite the death of the victim.

In contrast, the second case truly is, as Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns Party) mistakenly suggested that the perpetrator was of immigrant background - which is not surprising considering the recent increase in violence against children and young people by individuals of immigrant background. Of course, once the real ethnicity of the murderer was revealed, she corrected her view.

This has not stopped the far, extreme, or moderate left from reveling in the fate of the stabbing victim. At least just elected member of the EU-parliament Li Andersson (Left Alliance), long-time EU MEP Ville Niinistö (Green League), party leader and member of the Finnish parliament Sofia Virta (Green League), and member of the Finnish parliament Timo Harakka (Social Democrats) have done so. However, they do not appear to have had anything to say about the dark-skinned person's act of killing an adult man.

* * *

In this situation, it is important to state - and I state it myself - that both acts were heinous and should not be defended in any way. However, this cannot mean that discussions about immigration - its benefits, everyday realities, or drawbacks - should not continue.

Instead, these cases underline the government's - and also the opposition's - right and duty to strive to maximize the benefits of immigration and minimize its associated drawbacks.

The latter concerns both the actions of immigrants themselves and those of the marginal groups among the native population who are motivated by them. This includes groups such as the Nordic Resistance Movement, which served as the reference group for the perpetrator of the recent child stabbing and which the USA has just classified as a terrorist organization.

In Finland, the Supreme Court ordered the Nordic Resistance Movement to be disbanded already in 2020.

Aiempia ajatuksia samasta aihepiiristä:
Monenlaista väkivaltaa ja terrori-iskujen torjuntaa
Huumekaupan motivoimia jengisotia myös Suomeen?
Keskimääräisestä erottuva maahanmuuttaja on otettu kiinni