Blue Reform

Blue Reform
Sininen tulevaisuus
Blå framtid
Chairman Sampo Terho[1]
Parliamentary group leader Simon Elo
Founded 13 June 2017 (2017-06-13)
Split from Finns Party
Headquarters Helsinki[2]
Ideology Populism
Economic liberalism
National conservatism
Soft Euroscepticism
Political position Centre-right
European affiliation Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe
Colors      Blue
Parliament of Finland
18 / 200
Website
www.sininentulevaisuus.fi
Republic of Finland
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Finland

Blue Reform (Finnish: Sininen tulevaisuus, shortened to SIN, Swedish: Blå framtid,[2] lit. blue future) is a Finnish centre-right liberal conservative political party.

Blue Reform was founded by the 19 MPs who left the Finns Party on 13 June 2017 in protest against Jussi Halla-aho having been elected party leader. The new parliamentary group of these defectors was initially called New Alternative (Finnish: Uusi vaihtoehto, uv; Swedish: Nytt alternativ, na).[3] The party's current name was announced on 19 June.[4] The association of this name was officially registered on 3 July 2017.[2]

The Blue Reform is chaired by Sampo Terho, the Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sport.[1] It also includes all the other cabinet ministers who were previously members of the Finns Party: Timo Soini, Jussi Niinistö, Jari Lindström and Pirkko Mattila. It is one of the three parties that make up the Sipilä Cabinet.

According to a Helsingin Sanomat opinion poll conducted in May 2018, Blue Reform has a popular support of 1.7 percent, making it the least popular group represented in the Parliament of Finland.[5]

History

Finns Party

The Blue Reform originates from the Finns Party, founded by Timo Soini, Raimo Vistbacka, Urpo Leppänen and Kari Bärlund in 1995. It took some time before the Finns Party gained ground in Finnish elections and the party's sole MP until 2003 was Vistbacka. In 2003, the party won three seats: besides Vistbacka, Soini and Tony Halme were elected. Soini had taken over as the chairman in 1997 and remained in the position for twenty years until 2017. The party slowly gained ground, but ultimately saw exceptional rise in 2011 election, when the party gained 39 seats, making them the third largest party in the parliament and the leading opposition party. In the 2015 election, the Finns Party rose to be the second biggest party in the parliament with 38 seats. The Finns Party subsequently entered into a coalition government with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party, led by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.[6]

In March 2017, Soini announced that he would step down as party chairman in the next party congress.[7] In June 2017, Jussi Halla-aho and Sampo Terho faced off in the leadership election, in which Halla-aho received 949 votes against Terho's 646 votes and thus succeeded Soini as party chairman.[8] Sipilä and Finance Minister Petteri Orpo soon announced that they would not continue their coalition with the Finns Party if it was led by Halla-aho.[9]

On 13 June 2017, 20 members of the Finns Party, including Soini and Terho, left its parliamentary group to form the New Alternative (Finnish: Uusi vaihtoehto (uv), Swedish: Nytt alternativ (na)) parliamentary group. The decision followed the election of Halla-aho, who had received criticism both inside and outside of the Finns Party for his strict views on immigration. MP Simon Elo was chosen to lead the group for the time being.[10] While Halla-aho's Finns Party was expelled from the Finnish government, the New Alternative continued as a member of the government coalition.[11]

Formation

The first chairman of the party, Sampo Terho.

On 19 June 2017, Sampo Terho announced that a new party would be formed based on the New Alternative parliamentary group under the name Blue Reform.[12][13] The parliamentary group still saw some changes, as on 22 June 2017, Ritva Elomaa left the group to re-join the Finns Party, after which the group had 19 members left.[14] On 30 June 2017, Hanna Mäntylä left the Parliament to work for the Council of Europe and she was replaced by the substitute MP Matti Torvinen (the highest-placed non-elected True Finns candidate). Torvinen subsequently left the Finns Party and joined the New Alternative.[15]

On 15 November 2017, the Blue Reform was officially registered as a political party.[16] The first party convention, organized on 16 December 2017, elected Terho as the first chairman of the party and MP Matti Torvinen as the party secretary.[17][18]

Politics

Blue Reform says that it wants a society that encourages people to work, to found businesses and to care about others and ensures a living for every citizen. The party also respects family values and says that "the only interest group it works for is the people of Finland". In addition, Blue Reform says that it respects human rights and denounces all hatred towards human beings.[19]

The name "Blue Reform" is said to mean stability, peace, reformism, effectiveness and patriotism.[20]

Elected representatives

Members of the Finnish Parliament

Former Members of Parliament

  • Kike Elomaa (2017; Finns Party MP 2011–2017; defected back to the Finns Party in 2017)
  • Hanna Mäntylä (2017; Finns Party MP 2011–2017)
  • Kaj Turunen (2017–2018; Finns Party MP 2011–2017; defected to the National Coalition Party in 2018)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Sininen tulevaisuus perussuomalaisista loikanneiden uuden puolueen nimi". Turun Sanomat. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 AssociationNet Finnish Patent and Registration Office. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Hallitus on jatkamassa Uusi vaihtoehto -ryhmän kanssa – Ryhmän johtajat syyttivät Ylellä halla-aholaisia "kaappauksesta" ja sopimattomista käsitervehdyksistä". Helsingin Sanomat. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Nyt se selvisi: Uudesta vaihtoehdosta tulee Sininen tulevaisuus -puolue". Uusi Suomi. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Sdp on säilyttänyt paikkansa suosituimpana puolueena, perussuomalaisten kannatus laski eniten". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 17 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "President appoints new cabinet". yle.fi. Yle. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Soini announces he will not continue at Finns Party helm Yle News on March 5, 2017. Retrieved on October 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ Jussi Halla-aho elected Finns Party leader YLE 10.6.2017
  9. ↑ Finnish govt implodes: Centre, NCP say deal off with Finns Party YLE 13.6.2017
  10. ↑ "Tällainen on Uusi vaihtoehto – Nämä kansanedustajat jättivät perussuomalaiset". Yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  11. ↑ "PM Sipilä: 'Government to continue' with New Alternative". Yle News. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Uusi vaihtoehto -ryhmästä tulee Sininen tulevaisuus". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  13. ↑ "Finns Party breakaway group to be named Blue Reform". Yle News. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Ritva Elomaa siirtyy takaisin perussuomalaisiin – Halla-aho kehottaa muitakin "pohtimaan asiaa"". Helsingin-Sanomat. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Kansanedustaja Matti Torvinen eroaa perussuomalaisista". Helsingin Sanomat. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "Kannattajakortit tarkistettu – siniset hyväksyttiin puoluerekisteriin". Ilta-Sanomat. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Sampo Terhosta Sinisen tulevaisuuden ensimmäinen puheenjohtaja". Ilta-Sanomat. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "Matti Torvisesta sinisen tulevaisuuden puoluesihteeri". Yle. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Sininen tulevaisuus -periaateohjelma". Blue Reform. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Niinistö, Jussi (19 June 2017). "Sininen tulevaisuus". Iltalehti. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
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