A neo-statist within the European neo-aristocracy
This mirrors the activities of the neo-statists* in the U.S., where big business (anti-consumer/welfare capitalist) money men plying the coffers of those who will continue the practice of choosing the winners and losers in the private sector economy. The socialist Left has the attention of the same crowd however, as well as the big fat cats in the various unions.
Big business Cronyism runs deep in states where statism (concentrated political power) reigns supreme, and sadly to say, that has become the norm, and being inside the EU had only served to further ingrain the mindest. Stubb represents the classic neo-statist, ready to sell any of his previous conservative values at the alter of his political agenda, safeguarding the ruling elite and its political power structures.
The EU is everything that the Founders and Framers, of the US and its Constitution, would reject. It’s a top down statist enterprise, and only those who give full throated support to it, will ever get the chance to reach the top of power. Stubb has faithfully done that ever since I started following his career.
NOTE: I have no problem with big business funding this or that candidate, that said, I’m for the consumer most of all, and the sovereign citizen within a truly representative ‘little d’ democracy, buttressed by free market capitalism (as opposed to cronyism, which gets politicians to act in their favour against their competition). Right now, our systems of government in both the US and here in Finland, do not work towards those goals, in fact, they work against us.
PM Stubb’s Europarliament campaign funded by well-known big shots
An election campaign funding report filed by Prime Minister Alexander Stubb Tuesday reveals that he didn’t have to fall back on his own resources to finance his Europarliament election campaign. Election contributors – some more high-profile than others – were only too happy to foot the bill.
According to the election funding report, a number of private individuals put their money where their mouths were to provide financial support for Europarliament candidate Alexander Stubb.
Stubb’s largest individual election contributor was named as Chaim “Poju” Zabludowicz, said to be among Finland’s richest. He bestowed 8,000 euros on Stubb’s election campaign.
Other generous and wealthy donators included Björn Wahlroos, the outspoken chair of Sampo Group, Nordea Bank and bio-forestry company UPM, who parted with 5,000 euros. Former Fortum chief executive Mikael Lilius donated 2,500 euros, while Sampo CEO Kari Stadigh shelled out 2,000.
Not only did private contributors donate 59,000 euros to fund Stubb’s path to the European Parliament, corporate bodies also stepped forward to offer the National Coalition candidate 63,000 euros, bringing his entire campaign budget to 126,596 euros.
Stubb’s campaign team put the lion’s share of his campaign funding to work on advertising – some 105,000 euros. It all paid off, as Stubb emerged the biggest vote-getter in the May election.
Finns Party’s Terho makes it to Brussels on far less
The Finns Party’s Sampo Terho and Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner also filed their campaign funding reports Tuesday. According to the filings, nearly two-thirds of Terho’s campaign budget of 30,000 euros was self-financed, while Ruohonen-Lerner picked up half the tab for her 20,000-euro campaign.
Both relied on party support to cover the rest of their campaign expenses. Terho was one of two Finns Party MEPs elected to representation in Brussels. The other was first-timer Jussi Halla-aho.
Campaign funding reports are to be filed by July 28. News of Stubb’s campaign funding filing was first published by the tabloid daily Iltalehti. YLE
* Radio host and U.S. Constitutional scholar Mark Levin coined the phrase.
