Minja Koskela (centre) smiled as her party comrades applauded her selection as the new chairperson of the Left Alliance in Helsinki on Saturday, 19 October 2024. Koskela indicated in her acceptance speech that she is not planning a major overhaul of the party platform. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
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MINJA KOSKELA, a 37-year-old first-term Member of the Finnish Parliament from Helsinki, has been elected as the new chairperson of the Left Alliance.
Koskela was handed the reins of the left-wing opposition party after receiving the most votes in a non-binding vote among the party membership. Also vying to succeed Li Andersson, who was elected to the European Parliament in June, were Laura Meriluoto, a 39-year-old first-term Member of Parliament from Kuopio, and Gashaw Bibani, a 37-year-old councillor at the well-being services county of Vantaa-Kerava.
Almost 6,500 votes – accounting for 47 per cent of the total membership of the Left Alliance – were cast in the election held in conjunction with the party conference in Helsinki on Saturday, 4,115 of them going to Koskela, 1,572 to Meriluoto and 806 to Bibani.
Koskela indicated in her acceptance speech that the change of leadership will not lead to major changes in the party platform, according to an analysis by Helsingin Sanomat. She ran through a laundry list of familiar talking points, from criticising the government for eroding the welfare state, squeezing the labour movement, slashing social security and undermining employee rights to racism and lack of action on climate and the environment.
“Value-based realism has become a meaningless phrase from which values have been erased,” she added, taking aim at the foundation of Finnish foreign policy as defined by President Alexander Stubb.
A lengthy section of the speech was dedicated to the situation on the Gaza Strip. Koskela demanded that the EU increase humanitarian aid to the war-torn area, impose economic sanctions on Israel and suspend its free-trade agreement with Israel.
“Finland has to recognise the state of Palestine now,” she declared.
The Left Alliance won 17.3 per cent of the vote in the European elections in June, emerging as the second largest Finnish party in Brussels on the back of the nationwide appeal of Andersson. Its popularity has since fallen below the 10-per-cent mark in polls commissioned by both YLE and Helsingin Sanomat.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
- Next Article Support for National Coalition falls to lowest level since elections, shows poll by HS
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
