They call themselves the New Alternative in English, and Blue Future in Finnish (Sininen Tulevaisuus), but I call them Smurfs.
Soini faction still 2,500 signatures short of registering new party
The breakaway ex-Finns Party MP group New Alternative has announced it has gathered just under half of the 5,000 supporters needed to register as a new political party, Blue Reform. Association chair Sampo Terho says that summer has slowed down their recruitment efforts.
New Alternative, the group of ex-Finns Party MPs who splintered from the party, has announced that the association they formed in June is halfway to having enough supporters to officially found a new political party, Blue Reform.
The New Alternative faction formed after 19 Finns Party MPs including former chair Timo Soini defected following Jussi Halla-aho’s election as leader.
That means that the association still lacks the more than two and a half thousand supporters it needs to reach the minimum requirement of 5,000 people after two months of campaigning. Association chair Sampo Terho blames the slow pace on the summer holidays.
“People are taking time off after a fraught political spring,” he says. “It’s time to get back on track with everyday concerns.”
