Finland’s eurosceptic Finns party picked an anti-immigration hardliner as its leader on Saturday in a move that the prime minister said might lead to a break-up of the ruling coalition.
At a Finns party congress, 56 percent of those voting backed European Parliament member Jussi Halla-aho, who wants Finland to leave the European Union.
Halla-aho, who was fined by Finland’s Supreme Court in 2012 for comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft, has said he will push the three-party coalition to tighten immigration policies, and that he will not stay in the government at any price.
“We must be more aggressive in raising the topics that distinguish us from other parties … it is important to push our priorities forward more vigorously within the government program,” Halla-aho told reporters after his election.
Prime Minister Juha Sipila, citing differences in core values, said that there was a risk the centre-right government could break up due to Halla-aho’s nomination.
“Of course (there is a risk of break-up). This is a tough spot for the government,” Sipila, from the Centre Party, told daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
The third coalition partner, the pro-EU National Coalition Party (NCP) also said it might not want to cooperate.
“This requires serious contemplation. The Finns party is not the same party anymore,” Finance Minister Petteri Orpo told Verkkouutiset, an online news site.
As snap elections are very rare in the Nordic country, a…