Power Belongs to the People

Last updated
Power Belongs to the People
Valta kuuluu kansalle
AbbreviationVKK
Chairperson Antti Asikainen
SecretaryMika Schwach
First deputy chairDawson Clay
Second deputy chairLauri Louhivirta
Third deputy chairJarmo Ylinen
Founder Ano Turtiainen
Founded10 June 2020 (2020-06-10)(AT)
5 June 2021 (2021-06-05)(VKK)
Split from Finns Party
HeadquartersYhdystie 2, 51900 Juva
Membership (2022)4,000 [1] [ better source needed ]
Ideology Finnish ultranationalism
Anti-immigration
Christian nationalism
Russophilia
Vaccine hesitancy [2] [3]
Political position Far-right [4] [5]
Colours  Dark green
  Gold
Slogan"Valta kuuluu kansalle" [6]
Eduskunta
0 / 200
Municipalities
1 / 8,859
County seats
3 / 1,379
Party flag[ image reference needed ]
Flag of Power Belongs to the People.svg
Website
valtakuuluukansalle.fi OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Power Belongs to the People (Finnish : Valta kuuluu kansalle, VKK) [7] [8] formerly known as Parliamentary Group Ano Turtiainen [9] (AT), [10] is a political party in Finland. Ano Turtiainen was its group leader and was its only member of parliament. The group's rules state that the purpose of the group's activities is "to act in parliament in the interests of Finland and Finns and to have freedom of speech in elections". [11]

Contents

The party has been known for its strong support of Russia. [12] Although due to a change of leadership, the party has since dissasociated from the connections to Russia which Ano Turtiainen has. [13] [14]

History

Parliamentary group

The founder of VKK is Ano Turtiainen (left). On the right is the former third deputy leader of the party and wife of Ano Turtiainen Minna Turtiainen. Ano Turtiainen and Minna Turtiainen in 2020.jpg
The founder of VKK is Ano Turtiainen (left). On the right is the former third deputy leader of the party and wife of Ano Turtiainen Minna Turtiainen.

The parliamentary group in the Parliament of Finland was founded in June 2020 by Ano Turtiainen when he was sacked from the Finns Party parliamentary group, because of a tweet that was claimed as racist, which mocked [15] George Floyd and a history of inciting attacks against refugee centers. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] During 2021 the parliamentary group was renamed Power Belongs to the People and he planned to establish a political party.[ citation needed ]

Political party

Turtiainen was subsequently expelled from the Finns Party altogether, leading to his founding of Power Belongs to the People. The group gathered 5,000 signatures in a single day to form a new party. [21] [22] Three Finns in Espoo and city councillor from Lohja defected to VKK from the Finns party, and were joined by a city councillor from Veteli and previous deputy leader Jarno Vähäkainu who left the Finns after posting about executing Somali-Finnish politicians. [23] [24] [25] [26]

2023 elections

The VKK party failed in the 2023 elections due to internal conflicts. The party had around 1,3% support in 2022, however due to many conflicts the party experienced splits. [27] After the elections, Ano Turtiainen was invited to work in Russia as a representative of Finland, which he agreed to. [28]

Replacement of Ano Turtiainen

At a party convention held on 23 March 2024, the party elected new leadership and Turtiainen was replaced by Antti Asikainen. The new leadership has disassociated themselves from Turtiainen’s "unlawful actions behind the party’s name" and his connections to Russia. [29]

Politics

Turtiainen has described the party as being centre-right and in support of direct democracy. He has also emphasized the importance of Christianity for Western society and its values. [30] Kansan Uutiset describe the party as unequivocally far-right and ethnonationalist, while Keskipohjanmaa called the party's presentation as "radical" and similar to far-right and hard-line right-wing populists. [2] [4] [5]

According to Helsingin Sanomat, the party is in favor of Russia which is "completely exceptional in Finland outside of 1970s communists". Several leaders, including Turtiainen and James Hirvisaari have made Russophilic and pro-Putin statements. Further, the party's parliamentary candidate [31]  Johan Bäckman and editor-in-chief of pro-VKK organ MV-media Janus Putkonen have recruited combatants for the Russian side in Ukraine, who have then after gone to the Russian Imperial Movement’s training camps in St. Petersburg and become fighters in the Russo-Ukrainian War. [3] [32] [33] [34] [35]

The party is also strongly anti-immigration, this is especially apparent in Jyväskylä where both the party chairman and deputy chairman are members of the neo-nazi linked Nationalist Alliance (Kansallismielisten Liittouma) and at least one of them is a member of the neo-nazi Soldiers of Odin. [3] [36] The party program speaks of the white supremacist Great Replacement conspiracy theory and opposes the so called: "…program to replace the [native] population". [30]

Belief in conspiracy theories is also common in the party, as some of the leaders engage in anti-semitic conspiracy theories, most notably the QAnon conspiracy theory. [2] [3] [37]

The party opposed sanctions on Russia and has demanded that they should be stopped. [38]

Election results

Parliament of Finland

ElectionVotes %Seats+/–Government
2023 8,4690.27
0 / 200
NewExtra-parliamentary

County elections

ElectionCouncillorsVotes%
2022 1024,1891.3

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References

  1. ↑ "Keskustan puheenjohtajavaaliin osallistunut Ilkka Tiainen avautuu, miksi hän lähti ovet paukkuen puolueesta ja perusti uuden: "En voinut hyväksyä rangaistustoimia", Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, Jarmo Hankivaara, 24 January 2022,
  2. 1 2 3 Gurbanov, Dmitry (23 January 2022). "Sunnuntaivieras: Hipit ja etnonationalistit lyövät kättä Valta kuuluu kansalle –puolueessa, jossa suunnitellaan rinnakkaisyhteiskuntaa". Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). VKK:n ainoa sisäinen liima on tällä hetkellä koronapandemia. Sen takia puolue syntyi ja se on syy, miksi "kaikille rakkautta" -kristallihipit ja Jeesus-marssilla käyvät voivat toimia samassa puolueessa etnonationalistien kanssa...Aiheesta ja siihen suhtautumisesta saatiin pientä esimakua, kun VKK:n varapuheenjohtaja Jarno Vähäkainu kirjoitti avoimen antisemitistisiä twiittejä.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Tapaus Turtiainen". Helsingin Sanomat . January 10, 2021. Vkk:n kenttä näyttää edustavan karkeasti neljää toisiinsa eri tavoin linkittyvää agendaa. Ilmeisesti suurin osa tukijäsenistä on liittynyt puolueeseen pandemiarajoituksia ja rokotteita vastustavista syistä. Niihin myös puoluejohdon puhe nyt keskittyy. Toinen agenda on jyrkkä maahanmuuttovastaisuus, jota Vkk:ssa edustavat erityisesti Jyväskylän paikallisosaston puheenjohtaja ja varapuheenjohtaja. Heistä ainakin toinen on Soldiers of Odinin entinen ydinjäsen ja molemmat Kansallismielisten liittouman entisiä vaikuttajia. Kolmas on yleinen järjestelmävastaisuus ja salaliittouskovaisuus, joka lähestyy ajatuksellisesti Yhdysvaltojen jyrkimpiä trumpilaisia piirejä. Neljäs on julistava ja arvokonservatiivinen kristillisyys.
  4. 1 2 Gurbanov, Dmitry (21 November 2021). "Sunnuntaivieras: Äärioikeisto käänsi takkinsa koronarajoituksissa ja pisti foliohatun päähänsä". Kansan Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Ano Turtiaisen johtama puolue ottamassa jalansijaa Keskipohjanmaan vaikutusalueellakin, uusin paikallisyhdistys perusteilla Ylivieskaan – Juha Kärkkäinen teki puolueen kannatusilmoituksen: "Olen toistaiseksi edelleen kepun jäsen"". Keskipohjanmaa . January 16, 2022.
  6. ↑ Koskinen, Mika (2 September 2021). "Ano Turtiaisen Valta kuuluu kansalle merkitty puoluerekisteriin". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Ano Turtiainens riksdagsgrupp heter nu Makten tillhör folket". 17 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  8. ↑ "Eduskuntaryhmien voimasuhteet" . Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  9. ↑ "Eduskuntaryhmä Valta kuuluu kansalle".
  10. ↑ "Eduskuntaryhmien voimasuhteet". www.eduskunta.fi. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  11. ↑ "Eduskuntaryhmä Ano Turtiainen". www.eduskunta.fi. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  12. ↑ "VKK:n rivit rakoilevat: Ano Turtiaisen Venäjä-puheet, autoritaarinen johtajuus ja uskonnolliset kannanotot ajavat pois puolueesta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  13. ↑ "Ano Turtiainen sai lähtöpassit Valta kuuluu kansalle -puolueen johdosta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  14. ↑ "Ano Turtiainen syrjäytettiin". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  15. ↑ "Yle: Ano Turtiainen tyrmää paluun eduskuntaryhmään: "En ole perussuomalaisiin koskaan hakenut"". Ilta-Sanomat. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  16. ↑ "Perussuomalaisten eduskuntaryhmästä erotettu Ano Turtiainen perusti oman yhden miehen eduskuntaryhmän". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 9 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  17. ↑ "Ano Turtiainen erotettu perussuomalaisten eduskuntaryhmästä". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2020-06-04. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  18. ↑ "PS-kansanedustaja Ano Turtiaisen rasistisesta twiitistä tehty useita rikosilmoituksia poliisille". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2020-06-04. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  19. ↑ "Kansanedustaja Ano Turtiainen myöntää jälkikäteen: Tviittiäni pidettävä rasistisena, mutta se oli kuitenkin sananvapauden rajoissa". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 10 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  20. ↑ "Kansanedustaja Ano Turtiainen veti valituksensa pois hovioikeudesta – tuomio julkisesta kehottamisesta rikokseen saa lainvoiman". Finnish Broadcasting Company (in Finnish). January 16, 2022.
  21. ↑ "MP Turtiainen gathers 5,000 signatures for new party in one day". Yle. 12 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Ano Turtiainen tavoittelee uuden puolueen perustamista". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  23. ↑ "Perussuomalaisten keskipohjalainen valtuutettu jättää puoluevaltuuston twiiteistään nousseen kohun takia". YLE News (in Finnish). 24 January 2022.
  24. ↑ ""Valta kuuluu kansalle" on nyt puolue – Kansanedustaja Ano Turtiaisen vetämän puolueen 2. varapuheenjohtaja on veteliläinen Jarno Vähäkainu". keskipohjanmaa . January 24, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Kaupunginvaltuutettu Ossi Tiihonen eroaa perussuomalaisista ja liittyy Ano Turtiaisen puolueeseen". Iltasanomat . January 7, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Perussuomalaisilla yöllinen käsirysy – jupakka johti eroihin puolueesta". Iltasanomat . January 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Sirpaloituneen VKK:n johtaja Ano Turtiainen uskoi vaalivoittoon – nyt hän sanoo Nasan valehtelevan maapallon pyöreydestä ja vaalituloksesta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  28. ↑ "Ex-kansanedustaja Ano Turtiainen lähti Venäjän junailemana Pietarin talousfoorumiin – "Epätoivoinen yritys", sanoo asiantuntija". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  29. ↑ "Ano Turtiainen sai lähtöpassit Valta kuuluu kansalle -puolueen johdosta". Yle News (in Finnish). 25 March 2024.
  30. 1 2 "Valta kuuluu kansalle".
  31. ↑ "VKK-puolue yrittää saada dosentti Johan Bäckmanin eduskuntaan". Demokraatti . 24 March 2023.
  32. ↑ "Itä-Ukrainassa Venäjän puolesta taistelleet suomalaiset kehuskelevat kokemuksillaan – muualla Euroopassa vierastaistelijoita on tuomittu rikoksista". Finnish Broadcasting Company . January 12, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Wednesday's papers: Neo-nazi training, employment discrimination, fighting swans". Finnish Broadcasting Company . January 12, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Finnish Neo-Nazis attend paramilitary trainings in Russia". European Jewish Congress . January 12, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Suomen uusnatsit hankkivat nyt oppia Venäjältä: järjestön koulutuskeskus järjestää haulikko- ja pistooliammuntaa, "partisaanikursseja" ja kieltää kiroilun". Helsingin Sanomat . January 12, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Tällainen on kansallismielisten liittouma jonka puheenjohtajaa epäillään perussuomalaisten eduskunta-avustajan murhan yrityksestä". Helsingin Sanomat . January 13, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Qanon sulautui muihin salaliittoteorioihin, mutta sen ajatusmallit elävät ja voivat hyvin". Finnish Broadcasting Company . February 3, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Valta kuuluu kansalle kokoontui ensimmäiseen puoluekokoukseensa – Venäjän suurlähetystön kokousvieras: "Suomalais-venäläiset suhteet ovat tuhotut"". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
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