According to Lehtinen, the handling of the border law once again brought the line disputes between the SDP’s left wing and the majority to the public.
Lasse Lehtinen warns Democrats about the enchantments of the left wing. Pete Anikari
Former SDP member of parliament and MEP, non-fiction writer Lasse Lehtinen warns SDP about the enchantments of the left wing in his Democrat column.
– Throughout its history, SDP has balanced between the temptations of the orthodox far left and political realism. Every time the agitators – the populists of their time – get on the bandwagon, it has ended badly, Lehtinen sums up.
Lehtinen records examples since the civil war of 1918.
– The decision to start a rebellion was a big political mistake. The working people in Finland would have gotten everything they wanted without taking up arms. When Finland became independent, it was one of the most progressive and immature nations in the world. In Finland, women had universal and equal voting rights in both municipal and parliamentary elections.
– You should always be on your guard when a minority that prides itself on its ideological orthodoxy tries to lead the ignorant majority down the wrong path, Lehtinen writes.
Asevelihenki and Marin
Lehtinen reminds us how after the continuation of the war, the so-called peace opposition of the SDP wanted to build good relations with the Soviet Union, take back those expelled from the party and replace Tanner and other “war politicians of the party”.
– The goal was to take over SDP again and turn it into a group sympathetic to the Soviet Union, but the takeover did not go as planned.
– In the opinion of the young war veterans grouped around Tanner, the party had to be strengthened ideologically because of the danger of communism. It was necessary to make it clear to everyone what the difference is between the social democracy of a free Western country and the people’s democracy that relies on the totalitarianism of the Kremlin.
Lehtinen considers that when the prime minister True Marine in 2022, “he unequivocally determined and quickly supported Finland’s NATO membership, he represented the long tradition of this brother-in-arms spirit at that very moment”.
– The security of the homeland is more important than the marking of political differences, and there can always be a common front with parties representing other ideas, Lehtinen writes.
Movement of the knee
According to Lehtinen, the Democrats saw the magical power of the left next in the wave of radicalism at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s.
– The so-called Pälkänee movement started in Karja in 1967 at the joint May Day party of the left-wing youth, where the Demari youth went against the SDP’s ban. At first, the movement gathered even moderate leftists in its ranks, many of whom became communists in the fashion trends of the 1970s. From the SDP there were future MPs Osmo Kaipainen, Tellervo M. Koivisto and Erkki Tuomioja. Also Paavo Lipponen enjoyed himself for a while in the shops.
Lehtinen says that the Pälkänen people opposed the European Economic Community EEC and accepted the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union.
– The Democrats of the movement made ideological statements in the name of the SDP, which were in stark contrast to the party’s official line.
– Now in the summer of 2024, when a group of older Democratic influencers made a petition against the border law, it had similar echoes of the spirit of 1973. At that time, the left-wing Democrats appealed to the citizens and parliament by demanding “no to EEC – yes to YYA”, Lehtinen writes.
Adoption of the Border Act
According to Lehtinen, the processing of the Border Act brought the line disputes between the SDP’s left wing and the majority to the public in the summer.
– The “Conversion Act” is undeniably against international agreements. It could have been a wolf at birth and may not even work in a real situation. However, the five-sixths victory of the law in the parliament was a victory for democracy over the forces that undermine the system.
– The position of the majority of the SDP represented the kind of healthy patriotism, the handing over of which to the right wing alone would have thought-wise taken domestic politics back to the 1930s. Even then, according to the purists, defense matters did not belong to the left and should be “stayed out of” – even though their effects affected all Finns.
– I believe that in this time and politics, there is again a demand for a boring middle ground that emphasizes compromises and responsibility, Lehtinen writes.
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