Swedish People's Party of Finland

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Swedish People's Party of Finland
Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (Swedish)
Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (Finnish)
Abbreviation Swedish: SFP
Finnish: RKP, R
Chairperson Anders Adlercreutz
Secretary Fredrik Guseff  [ fi ]
General SecretaryHanna Seppä
Parliamentary group leader Otto Andersson (Member of the Finnish Parliament)  [ fi ]
Deputy chairs Ramieza Mahdi  [ fi ]
Silja Borgarsdóttir Sandelin  [ fi ]
Sandra Bergqvist
Chair of the party council Eva Biaudet
Founded1906
HeadquartersSimonkatu 8A,
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Newspaper Medborgarbladet  [ fi ]
Student wing Liberala Studerande LSK  [ sv ] [1]
Youth wing Svensk Ungdom
Women's wing Svenska Kvinnoförbundet [1]
Membership (2016)Increase2.svg 30,000 [2]
Ideology
Political position Centre to centre-right
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament group Renew Europe
International affiliation Liberal International
Nordic affiliation Centre Group
Colours
  •   Blue (official)
  •   Red
  •   Black
  •   Light yellow
Eduskunta [lower-alpha 1]
10 / 200
European Parliament
1 / 15
Municipalities
463 / 8,859
County seats
76 / 1,379
Website
www.sfp.fi OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; Swedish : Svenska folkpartiet i Finland, SFP; Finnish : Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue, RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. [3] [4] [5] The party is currently a participant in the Government of Petteri Orpo, holding the posts of Minister of Education, Minister for European Affairs, and Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity.

Contents

An ethnic catch-all party, [6] its main election issue since its inception has been the Swedish-speaking Finns' right to their own language while maintaining the official position of the Swedish language in Finland. [7] Ideologically, it is liberal, [8] [9] [10] social-liberal, [11] centrist, [12] [13] and pro-European. [14] The party has been in a governmental position from 1979 to 2015 and again since 2019, with one or two seats in government, and has collaborated with both centre-right and centre-left parties in parliament.

The fact that both the Finnish centre-right and centre-left have needed the support from the party has meant that they have been able to affect politics of Finland on a larger scale than the party's actual size would suggest. The position of the Swedish language as one of two official languages in Finland and the Swedish-speaking minority's right to Swedish culture are two of the results of the party's influence in Finnish politics. The party is a member of the Liberal International, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and Renew Europe. The youth organisation of the party is called Svensk Ungdom (Swedish Youth).

History and electorate

Swedish People's Party election poster from 1907, with "the man with the flag", that after this was used as party emblem for over 50 years. Designed by Alex Federley. Svenska folkpartiet election poster 1907.jpg
Swedish People's Party election poster from 1907, with ”the man with the flag”, that after this was used as party emblem for over 50 years. Designed by Alex Federley.

The Swedish Party (1870–1906), a parliamentary elite party based on members in the Diet of Finland, is the historical predecessor of the Swedish People's Party of Finland. It was a part of the Svecoman movement and its main policy was opposition of the Fennoman movement.

Unlike Fennomans, who were largely liberal on other matters than the language question, the Svecoman were conservative. Axel Lille and Axel Olof Freudenthal are often considered as some of the main "founding fathers" of the movement. Most members of the Liberal Party joined the Swedish Party in the 1880s, after the Liberals ceased to exist as a distinct party. The Swedish People's Party of Finland was founded in the 1906 party congress of the Swedish Party, making it one of the oldest parties in Finland. The first leader of Swedish People's Party was Axel Lille.

The current leader of the party is Anders Adlercreutz. [16] In the Parliament of Finland the representative for Åland is usually included in SPP's parliamentary group, regardless of his/her party affiliation; parties on Åland are separate from those on the mainland, but their common interest in Swedish-language issues gives them much in common with the Swedish People's Party group as regards national politics.

The party receives its main electoral support from the Swedish speaking minority, which makes up about 5.5% of Finland's population. [17] During its history, the party has suffered slow but steady decline in adherence, following the decline of the percentage of Swedish-speaking population. In 1907, the party received 12% of national votes; after World War II, it received 7% of the vote; and in the 2011 parliamentary election, it received 4.3% of the votes (and nine MPs). In municipal elections, it holds large majorities in municipalities with a Swedish-speaking majority.

Despite its position as one of the minor political parties in the Finnish parliament, it has frequently been one of the partners forming the governing coalition cabinets. Since 1956, the year when Urho Kekkonen was elected President, the party has been nearly continuously in the government. It has been part of all coalitions with the significant exception of Paasio's first cabinet (1966–68), which included only socialists (Social Democratic Party (SDP), the split SDP faction Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders and Finnish People's Democratic League) and the Centre Party.

Chairman of the Swedish People's Party of Finland Jan-Magnus Jansson from 1966 to 1973. Professor Jan-Magnus Jansson 1968 (JOKAHBL3E I04-1).tif
Chairman of the Swedish People’s Party of Finland Jan-Magnus Jansson from 1966 to 1973.

Short periods of rule by single-party minority governments, Miettunen cabinet (1961–62, Centre) and Paasio's second government (1972, SDP) and of nonpartisan caretaker governments have also interrupted its stay in the government. For this reason, the SPP is often criticized for being a single-issue party that allegedly accepts nearly all other policies as long as its own vital interest, the status of the Swedish language is maintained.

However, although Vanhanen's first cabinet made Swedish a voluntary subject in the upper secondary schools' matriculation exam, the SPP remained in the government. In contrast, the Greens left the previous government after a new nuclear power plant was decided in 2002.

The SPP's long continuous participation in the Finnish cabinets came to an end in following the 2015 parliamentary election when it was left out of the Sipilä Cabinet. [18] In June 2019, the SPP returned to government with two ministerial positions in the Rinne Cabinet, the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality. [19]

Recently, the SPP has emphasized the liberal part of its programme, attempting to woo voters outside its traditional Swedish-speaking electorate. In 2010, the party added the word Suomen ("of Finland") to its official Finnish name.

Election results

Parliament of Finland

Swedish People's Party of Finland
ElectionVotes %Seats+/-Government
1907 112,26712.60
24 / 200
Opposition
1908 103,14612.74
24 / 200
Steady2.svgOpposition
1909 104,19112.31
25 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Opposition
1910 107,12113.53
26 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Opposition
1911 106,81013.31
26 / 200
Steady2.svgOpposition
1913 94,67213.07
25 / 200
Decrease2.svg 1Opposition
1916 93,55511.76
21 / 200
Decrease2.svg 4Opposition
1917 108,19010.90
21 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1919 116,58212.13
22 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition (1919)
Opposition (1919-1920)
Coalition (1920-1921)
Opposition (1921-1922)
1922 107,41412.41
25 / 200
Increase2.svg 3Opposition
1924 105,73312.03
23 / 200
Decrease2.svg 2Coalition (1924-1925)
Opposition (1925-1927)
1927 111,00512.20
24 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Opposition
1929 108,88611.45
23 / 200
Decrease2.svg 1Opposition
1930 113,31810.03
20 / 200
Decrease2.svg 3Coalition
1933 115,43310.42
21 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition
1936 131,44011.20
21 / 200
Steady2.svgOpposition (1936-1937)
Coalition (1937-1939)
1939 124,7209.61
18 / 200
Decrease2.svg 3Coalition
1945 134,1067.90
14 / 200
Decrease2.svg 4Coalition
1948 137,9817.34
13 / 200
Decrease2.svg 1Opposition (1948-1950)
Coalition (1950-1951)
1951 130,5247.20
14 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition
1954 135,7686.76
12 / 200
Decrease2.svg 2Coalition (1954)
Opposition (1954-1956)
Coalition (1956-1958)
1958 126,3656.50
13 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition (1958-1961)
Opposition (1961-1962)
1962 140,6896.11
13 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1966 134,8325.69
11 / 200
Decrease2.svg 2Coalition
1970 135,4655.34
11 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1972 130,4075.06
9 / 200
Decrease2.svg 2Opposition (1972)
Coalition (1972-1975)
1975 128,2114.66
9 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1979 122,4184.23
9 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1983 137,4234.61
10 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition
1987 152,5975.30
12 / 200
Increase2.svg 2Coalition
1991 149,4765.48
11 / 200
Decrease2.svg 1Coalition
1995 142,8745.14
11 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
1999 137,3305.12
11 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
2003 128,8244.61
8 / 200
Decrease2.svg 3Coalition
2007 126,5204.57
9 / 200
Increase2.svg 1Coalition
2011 125,7854.28
9 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
2015 144,8024.88
9 / 200
Steady2.svgOpposition
2019 139,6404.53
9 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition
2023 133,3184.31
9 / 200
Steady2.svgCoalition

European Parliament

ElectionVotes %Seats+/–EP Group
1996 129,4255.75 (#6)
1 / 16
New ELDR
1999 84,1536.77 (#6)
1 / 16
Steady2.svg 0
2004 94,4215.70 (#6)
1 / 14
Steady2.svg 0 ALDE
2009 101,4536.09 (#6)
1 / 13
Steady2.svg 0
2014 116,7476.76 (#7)
1 / 13
Steady2.svg 0
2019 116,0336.34 (#7)
1 / 13
Steady2.svg 0 RE
2024 112,2456.14 (#7)
1 / 15
Steady2.svg 0

Presidential elections

ElectionCandidate1st round2nd roundResult
Votes %Votes %
1994 Elisabeth Rehn 702,21122.0 (#2)1,476,29446.1 (#2)Lost
2000 241,8777.9 (#4)Lost
2006 Henrik Lax 48,7031.6 (#7)Lost
2012 Eva Biaudet 82,5982.7 (#7)Lost
2018 [20] Nils Torvalds 44,7761.5 (#8)Lost
2024 [21] Did not contest

Political positions

The Swedish language is one of the two official languages of Finland. The SPP has as its main purpose the protection and strengthening of the position of the Swedish language in Finland.

The Swedish People's Party of Finland has the most eclectic profile of any of the political parties in Finland. Its members and supporters chiefly include:

Although the SPP represents a small minority of Finland, having Swedish as a mother tongue is not much of a political handicap in and of itself. Several times, Swedish speaking presidential candidates have gathered considerable support, although not necessarily as candidates for the Swedish People's Party of Finland:

The SPP supported Finland's accession bid to NATO. [22]

List of party leaders

The current party chairperson, Anders Adlercreutz. Anders-Adlercreutz-01 (cropped).jpg
The current party chairperson, Anders Adlercreutz.

See also

1960 municipal elections poster: "Choose Swedish". Valj svenskt.jpg
1960 municipal elections poster: "Choose Swedish".

Notes

  1. Including the Åland Coalition representative, who sits with the SFP group

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References

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