For the Poor
Encyclopedia
For the Poor is a Finnish
political party
, not situated anywhere on the traditional political map. It was founded in November 2002. The party is one of the smallest in Finland, it has no seats in the Parliament of Finland
, and its seats on municipal councils only include one seat on the city council of Espoo
.
The party was removed from the official register of parties in May 2007 because it had gone through two consecutive parliamentary elections without winning a single seat. The party returned to the register in 2008. In the municipal elections in 2008, the party chairperson Terttu Savola
was elected to the city council of Espoo.
The chairperson Terttu Savola gathered the required five thousand supporter cards by herself. Before forming a party of her own, Savola was a member of the Christian Democrats
, the True Finns
and the Remonttiryhmä ("Renovation Group") party.
In the 2008 municipal elections, the party described itself has being founded on a Christian
view of the world.
and the regional council elections in Kainuu
.
In the parliamentary elections of 2003 the party only signed up candidates in the Uusimaa electoral district, where the 26 candidates of the party gathered a total of 0.3% of the votes. In the parliamentary elections of 2007 the party had a total of 10 candidates from the electoral districts of Helsinki, Lapland, Oulu, Northern Savonia and Uusimaa. In the Helsinki and Oulu districts the party had an alliance with the Christian Democrats. In Lapland the party had an alliance with the True Finns and the Independence Party, in Northern Savonia only with the Independence Party.
In the European Union parliamentary elections of 2004 the party signed up a full number of 20 candidates. The party's electoral themes included stopping the European Union from becoming a union state and the introduction of the Tobin tax
. The party also participated in the Finnish elections
for the European Parliament in summer 2009.
In the municipal elections of 2004, For the Poor signed up a total of 11 candidates in Helsinki, Suomussalmi
and Vantaa
. The chairperson Terttu Savola was among the list of Independents in Espoo
candidates. None of the candidates were elected. The party was denied access to the Yleisradio
electoral discussion, and it filed a complaint about discrimination to the justice representative
. In the 2008 elections the party had 18 candidates in three municipalities. Savola was elected to the city council of Espoo. The success was due to an alliance with the True Finns. The huge popularity of Timo Soini
also brought Savola to the council, although For the Poor only received 0.3% of the votes. In the 2006 presidential election
the chairperson Savola supported Sauli Niinistö
. The incumbent president Tarja Halonen
did not, according to Savola, adequately address the plight of the Finnish poor. However, Savola did make it clear that the party members can freely choose their own candidates.
In the Kainuu regional elections For the Poor received 45 votes (0.1%) in 2004 and 30 votes (0.1%) in 2008.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, not situated anywhere on the traditional political map. It was founded in November 2002. The party is one of the smallest in Finland, it has no seats in the Parliament of Finland
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...
, and its seats on municipal councils only include one seat on the city council of Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
.
The party was removed from the official register of parties in May 2007 because it had gone through two consecutive parliamentary elections without winning a single seat. The party returned to the register in 2008. In the municipal elections in 2008, the party chairperson Terttu Savola
Terttu Savola
Terttu Savola is a Finnish politician. She is the chairperson of the For the Poor party, a member of the council of the city of Espoo, the ambassador for human rights and children's rights in the Finnish United Nations alliance, a lecturer in the Finnish Refugee Help Association, and a member of...
was elected to the city council of Espoo.
The chairperson Terttu Savola gathered the required five thousand supporter cards by herself. Before forming a party of her own, Savola was a member of the Christian Democrats
Christian Democrats (Finland)
The Christian Democrats is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. Formerly known as the Finnish Christian League , the Christian Democrats have six seats in the Finnish Parliament and one in the European Parliament.The party was founded in 1958, chiefly from the Christian faction of...
, the True Finns
True Finns
True Finns or The Finns is a populist and nationalist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, The party won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party...
and the Remonttiryhmä ("Renovation Group") party.
In the 2008 municipal elections, the party described itself has being founded on a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
view of the world.
Elections
The party For the Poor participates in the Finnish parliamentary elections, the European Union parliamentary electionsElections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
and the regional council elections in Kainuu
Kainuu
Kainuu is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Northern Savonia. In the east it also borders Russia. Kainuu is known in the ancient Norse sagas as Kvenland....
.
In the parliamentary elections of 2003 the party only signed up candidates in the Uusimaa electoral district, where the 26 candidates of the party gathered a total of 0.3% of the votes. In the parliamentary elections of 2007 the party had a total of 10 candidates from the electoral districts of Helsinki, Lapland, Oulu, Northern Savonia and Uusimaa. In the Helsinki and Oulu districts the party had an alliance with the Christian Democrats. In Lapland the party had an alliance with the True Finns and the Independence Party, in Northern Savonia only with the Independence Party.
In the European Union parliamentary elections of 2004 the party signed up a full number of 20 candidates. The party's electoral themes included stopping the European Union from becoming a union state and the introduction of the Tobin tax
Tobin tax
A Tobin tax, suggested by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin, was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another...
. The party also participated in the Finnish elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (Finland)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Finland was the election of the delegation from Finland to the European Parliament in 2009.Finland uses the open list d'Hondt method, where voters vote for an individual, but the individual's vote is counted primarily for the party and secondarily for the...
for the European Parliament in summer 2009.
In the municipal elections of 2004, For the Poor signed up a total of 11 candidates in Helsinki, Suomussalmi
Suomussalmi
Suomussalmi is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish...
and Vantaa
Vantaa
Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
. The chairperson Terttu Savola was among the list of Independents in Espoo
Independents in Espoo
Independents in Espoo is a local political party in the municipality of Espoo, Finland. In the 2004 municipal elections the party got 4360 votes . It got three seats in the municipal council, Timo Soini , Kurt Byman and Heidi Mikkola ....
candidates. None of the candidates were elected. The party was denied access to the Yleisradio
Yleisradio
The Finnish Broadcasting Company , abbreviated to YLE , is Finland's national broadcasting company, founded in 1926. YLE is a public-broadcasting organization which shares many of its characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled...
electoral discussion, and it filed a complaint about discrimination to the justice representative
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
. In the 2008 elections the party had 18 candidates in three municipalities. Savola was elected to the city council of Espoo. The success was due to an alliance with the True Finns. The huge popularity of Timo Soini
Timo Soini
Timo Juhani Soini is a Finnish politician, and co-founder and current leader of the True Finns party. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2011, when he returned to the Parliament of Finland. Well-known as an EU-sceptic populist, he was elected a member of the Espoo city...
also brought Savola to the council, although For the Poor only received 0.3% of the votes. In the 2006 presidential election
Finnish presidential election, 2006
The Finnish Presidential election of 2006 saw the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term.The first round of voting in Finnish presidential elections always takes place on the third Sunday of January, in this case 15 January 2006...
the chairperson Savola supported Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö is a Finnish politician from National Coalition Party. He is also President of the Football Association of Finland. A lawyer by training, he was Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2003 and the National Coalition Party candidate in the 2006 presidential election...
. The incumbent president Tarja Halonen
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
did not, according to Savola, adequately address the plight of the Finnish poor. However, Savola did make it clear that the party members can freely choose their own candidates.
In the Kainuu regional elections For the Poor received 45 votes (0.1%) in 2004 and 30 votes (0.1%) in 2008.