Left Alliance (Finland)

Left Alliance
Vasemmistoliitto (Finnish)
Vänsterförbundet (Swedish)
AbbreviationFinnish: Vas
Swedish: VF
ChairpersonMinja Koskela
SecretaryAnna Mäkipää [fi][1]
General SecretaryLaura Koskinen
Parliamentary group leaderAino-Kaisa Pekonen
First deputy chairVeronika Honkasalo
Chair of the party councilMiikka Kortelainen [fi]
FounderClaes Andersson
Founded29 April 1990 (1990-04-29)
Merger of
HeadquartersLintulahdenkatu 10, 00500 Helsinki
NewspaperKansan Uutiset
Think tankVasemmistofoorumi [fi]
Student wingVasemmisto-opiskelijat [fi]
Youth wingLeft Youth
Women's wingVasemmistonaiset [fi][2]
Children's wingPinskut [fi]
Membership (2020)Increase 11,500[3]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing
European affiliationEuropean Left Alliance
for the People and the Planet

Now the People ![4]
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
Nordic affiliationNordic Green Left Alliance
Colours  Pink
Eduskunta
11 / 200
European Parliament
3 / 15
Municipalities
508 / 8,859
County seats
100 / 1,379
Website
vasemmisto.fi

The Left Alliance (Finnish: Vasemmistoliitto [ˈʋɑsemːistoliːtːo], Vas; Swedish: Vänsterförbundet, VF) is a socialist political party in Finland.[5]

The Left Alliance was founded in 1990 as the chief successor of the left-wing Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL). Although not as electorally successful as the SKDL, it has achieved some success, typically receiving around eight to ten percent of the vote in parliamentary elections. It has participated in five cabinets, most recently in the Marin Cabinet from 2019 to 2023. It is socialist,[6][7] specifically democratically socialist,[8] and it supports the principles of eco-socialism.[9][10]

The Left Alliance is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance. The party's newspaper is the monthly Kansan Uutiset. It had two ministerial positions in the Finnish Government led by Sanna Marin, Li Andersson as the Minister of Education[11] and Hanna Sarkkinen as the Minister of Social Affairs and Health.[12] It is also part of the European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet; a pan-European party that supports an alternative to capitalism.[13]

  1. ^ "Anna Mäkipää vasemmistoliiton puoluesihteeriksi". Vasemmisto.fi. Left Alliance. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ "The Left Women in Finland". Vasemmistonaiset.fi. The Left Women in Finland. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ Puhakka, Sami (3 May 2020). "Vasemmistoliiton vahvuus on erilaisten ihmisten yhteistyössä". Kansan Uutiset. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Now the People".
  5. ^
  6. ^ Matthews-Ferrero, Daniel; Päri, Jasmin; Steenland, Robert (2019-05-10). "EU country briefing: Finland". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  7. ^ "Why Basic Income Failed in Finland". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  8. ^ "Populism Report" (PDF). Foundation for European Progressive Studies. September 2017.
  9. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Left Alliance Party Program 2007" (PDF). Vasemmisto. 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Minister of Education". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  12. ^ "Minister of Social Affairs and Health". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  13. ^ WHO WE ARE