News analysis: Finnish election results may deepen divisions in Finland

While the Center Party and the Green Party celebrated their victories in Sunday's Finnish parliamentary elections, experts have warned the results might lead to stronger ideological divisions in the country.

In Finland, the Centrists are regarded as "morally conservative Finns" living in rural areas, and the Greens more as "liberal Finns" in urban cities. Thus, the electoral scenario was feared to be a sign of increased polarization in sense of social values. The Center got only one candidate elected in Helsinki, out of 22.

Timo Airaksinen, Professor of philosophy at Helsinki University, told national broadcaster Yle that a phenomenon comparable to the polarization between cities and rural areas is unknown elsewhere in Western Europe, but the trend has been seen in the United States.

Researcher Petri Koikkalainen from Lapland University in Rovaniemi, northern Finland, noted to Xinhua what is described as "rural Finland" mostly comprises smaller towns in central and northern part of the country, a large area sparsely inhabited.

"In recent days, here in Lapland, (there is) a lot of wishful thinking that 'the concentration of power and wealth' in the southern urban centers would now end," he said.

Koikkalainen noticed a break in communications in Finland. The urban Greens and value conservatism supporters do not share the same life experience or the same social media.

Religion has come up as a divisive line as well. Professor Airaksinen also warned of a clash between the religious attitudes of the value-conservatives and the secularized Finns.

Finland is a secularized protestant country where the national Lutheran church still enjoys some remnants of its earlier state church position. Church membership has declined to under 75 percent and in many urban areas only a minority of children are baptized.

Airaksinen mentioned on Yle the possible impact of religious attitudes of the leaders of the Center Party and the Finns Party, the two biggest parties in the new parliament to be convened soon.

The Center's chairman Juha Sipila comes from a Lutheran sub-movement known for its strict attitudes, but he has stressed he does not represent the strictest camp. The Finns Party chairman Timo Soini is a Catholic, which is rare in the mainly protestant Finland.

Airaksinen predicted religion would play a role when the new government has to take a stand on modernization, value questions or internationalization of the country.

Late last year the parliament accepted a civic initiative bill that legitimated same-sex marriage in Finland. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto signed it as a new law. The would-be Prime Minister Sipila, as a member of parliament, voted against the bill.

Sipila has assured in public that he will not try to change the new law. But Koikkalainen said "Sipila's actions will be watched on whether the administrative process on enacting the law will be delayed."

On his part, Soini has said strongly that "he will not contribute to implementing" the new law. Opposition to same-sex marriage has been a key part of the agenda of Soini's Finns Party for years. It was the only party that demanded its MPs to vote against the new marriage bill while other parties allowed their MPs to vote on the basis of conscience.

Koikkalainen believed the legislation on child day care is another sector where conservatism could step in. "Compensation for child care at home" could be favored, he said, "as an alternative to municipal day care".

While the Finns Party is publicly known for value conservatism, it is also to a large extent a party of disillusioned and jobless industrial employees. A good example is the town of Salo, which used to enjoy the benefits brought by the mobile phone industry. Affluence vanished when Nokia phased out its plant there during the latter half of last decade.

The Social Democratic Party used to have a stronghold in the town. But in the election last Sunday, the Finns Party won the most votes in Salo, with the Center Party the second. Endit