Swedish People's Party of Finland

 

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.

 

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.

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:

• Fishermen and farmers from the Swedish-speaking coastal areas.
• Small-town dwellers from the adjacent Swedish-speaking and bilingual towns.
• A significant part of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.
• Left-leaning middle class people.
• Liberals in general, who currently have no representation of their own in the Parliament of Finland, and who as such benefit from the predominantly liberal values of the SPP.

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:

• In 1944, the Swedish-Finnish Carl G. E. Mannerheim a hero of Finnish independence became Finland's 6th president.
• In 1956, the Swedish-speaking Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm got one elector's vote less than needed to be elected, and the Agrarian Urho Kekkonen was elected.
• In 1994, the SPP's candidate Elisabeth Rehn was defeated by the Social Democrat candidate Martti Ahtisaari, also with a narrow margin (53.9% to 46.1%).
• In 2024, the NCP's candidate Alexander Stubb was elected as the 13th president of Finland.

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

 

• Axel Lille (1906–1917)
• Eric von Rettig (1917–1934)
• Ernst von Born (1934–1945)
• Ralf Törngren (1945–1955)
• Ernst von Born (1955–1956)
• Lars Erik Taxell (1956–1966)
• Jan-Magnus Jansson (1966–1973)
• Kristian Gestrin (1973–1974)
• Carl Olof Tallgren (1974–1977)
• Pär Stenbäck (1977–1985)
• Christoffer Taxell (1985–1990)
• Ole Norrback (1990–1998)
• Jan-Erik Enestam (1998–2006)
• Stefan Wallin (2006–2012)
• Carl Haglund (2012–2016)
• Anna-Maja Henriksson (2016–2024)
• Anders Adlercreutz (2024–present)

 

• Liberal parties by country
• Liberal democracy
• Liberalism and centrism in Finland
• Finland's language strife
• Swedish Assembly of Finland
• Svecoman movement
• Fennoman movement
• Rolf Witting
• Axel Olof Freudenthal

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swedish People's Party.

• Website of the Swedish People's Party of Finland (in Swedish)
• Website in English