The (''Vasemmistoliitto'' in Finnish, ''Vänsterförbundet'' in Swedish) is a
Political party in
Finland . Its current
Chair is
Suvi-Anne Siimes , and it is a member of the
Nordic Green Left Alliance . In
Parliamentary Elections , Left Alliance share of the vote has been close to ten
Per Cent . The Left Alliance had three portfolios in the two cabinets of
Paavo Lipponen (
1995 -
2003 ).
The party currently has 19
MP s in the Finnish
Eduskunta , and one
MEP in the
European Parliament .
The party was founded as a result of a
Merger between the
Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL), the
Finnish Women's Democratic League (SNDL), and the
Bankrupt Communist Party Of Finland (SKP). The founding meeting was held in April
1990 in
Helsinki , following the publishing of the ''April Declaration'', which emphasised the need for a party that would promote the ideals of the
French Revolution - liberty, equality, and fraternity - in addition to peace and environmental values.
The party's short history has been characterised by internal disputes and bickering, as it was formed by people with very different views on society. There have been several large-scale defections from the Left Alliance to the
Social Democratic Party and the newly formed
Communist Party Of Finland (Unity) . In
2005 , the party's former secretary and
SAK 's assistant head
Matti Viialainen formed a society to promote a merger between the two largest Finnish left-wing political parties, the Left Alliance and the Social Democrats. This caused an outrage within the Left Alliance, and Viialainen was condemned of wanting to break up the party.
In spite of its origins, the party is attempting to break away from association to the ideologies of
Socialism and
Communism , and to associate more closely to the '
New Left '. However, many Finnish people still draw a parallel between the Left Alliance and communism. The party's policy emphasises the link between
Social Justice and the
Environment .
''parliament''
- 10,1% ''274 639 votes'' (19 MPs)
- 11,2% ''310 340'' (22)
- 10,9% ''291 675'' (20)
- 9,9% ''277 152'' (19)
''european parliament''
- 10,5% ''236 490'' (2 MEPs)
- 9,1% ''112 757'' (1)
- 9,1% ''151 291'' (1)
''local''
- 11,7% ''310 757'' (1319 councillors)
- 10,4% ''246 597'' (1128)
- 9,9% ''219 671'' (1027)
- 9,6% ''228 358'' (987)
''presidential''
- 3,8% ''122 820'' (Claes Andersson)
- no own candidate
- no own candidate, but supports current president of Finland, Tarja Halonen
