Browsing by Author "Tuokko, Katja"

The accession to the European Union (EU) in 1995 has been one of the most important decisions made in the post-Cold War Finland. A decade after the end of the Cold War period, Finland had become a full member of both the EU and the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) entering the inner circle of European decision-making. Deepening European integration created a challenge for Finnish parties which had traditionally based their ideology on national default lines. For Vasemmistoliitto (VAS), the dimension of European integration created a challenge. In the 1990’s, VAS, established as a successor of Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto (SKDL), had to form its opinion on European integration. As other European radical left parties, VAS too, struggled to find its ideological basis on the post-Cold War Europe. This study discusses VAS position on European integration from the establishment of the party in 1990 until 1998. By means of qualitative content analysis, it seeks to answer what the VAS position on European integration was and why did it change. Party archives, two interviews of VAS party secretaries and newspaper material have been used as primary sources of the analysis. The main finding of this study is that VAS position on European integration was characterized by the party’s will to be seen as fit to govern. VAS leadership avoided taking an official position to the EU membership and finally in 1997, after a member referendum, the party adopted a pro-EMU line. As all major parties supported European integration, anti-EU and anti-EMU positions would have meant a role in opposition ranks for VAS for years to come. In the 1990’s, VAS was characterized by inner conflict and the rise of social populism inside the party. As the majority of VAS voters were against European integration, VAS position on Europe did not reflect the opinions of the voters of the party very well. VAS was traumatized by the deep inner split of its predecessor SKDL and isolation from the mainstream Finnish politics. The long path in opposition that SKDL had experienced was a frightening future scenario for VAS. In order to advance values and politics central to the party, VAS had the urge to be seen as fit to govern and as a reliable coalition partner. The Nordic sister parties’ decades long path in opposition only strengthened the will of VAS to be there where the decision were made. The accelerating pace of European integration in the 1990’s partly urged VAS to rethink in which direction it as a radical left-wing party was heading to. The questions on the EU and the EMU were a stimulus for VAS to define what kind of values it aimed to advance.