Leader of the populist Finns Party steps down

The Debates feature from Euro|Topics offers English (+ French and German) translations of a selections of articles in European news sources on this topic.

Euro|Topics relaunched their website during 2016. Features published before that date are still available via an archive website (see related url hyperlinks)Timo Soini, who had led the right-wing populist Finns Party (previously called True Finns) for years, announced in March 2017 his resignation. Some commentators feared that this might mean the Finns party, which was currently a member of the governing coalition, could shift further to the right. Others saw right-wing populism in Finland in decline.

Timo Soini was currently Foreign Minister of Finland. Although he would step down as leader of the Finns Party, he said he hoped to remain Foreign Minister until the next elections in 2019.

• Primary Source

http://archiv.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/aktuell.html http://archiv.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/aktuell.html

ESO: Background information: Finland's populists flirt with EU referendum http://www.europeansources.info/record/finlands-populists-flirt-with-eu-referendum/

Wikipedia: Timo Soini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timo_Soini

Politico, 05.03.17: True Finns leader will step down in June http://www.politico.eu/article/true-finns-leader-will-step-down-in-june/

Helsinki Times, 06.03.17: Soini: Finns Party’s leadership election unlikely to spark government crisis http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/14586-soini-finns-party-s-leadership-election-unlikely-to-spark-government-crisis.html

Politico, 21.03.17: True Finns’ dilemma: power or populism? http://www.politico.eu/article/timo-soini-jussi-halla-aho-true-finns-dilemma-power-or-populism/

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