Perussuomalaisten sisäiset poliittiset suuntaukset: Julkisen oikeuttamisen analyysi

Political divergence within the (True) Finns Party (PS) limits the applicability of “party family” classifications of this young party. While assessments exist of the composition of their parliamentary group, no systematic attempt at locating political tendencies in candidates has been made. PS has mobilized voters geographically evenly and both on the left and right, but acknowledging significant continuity from the party’s predecessor, the Finnish Rural Party, is PS geographically divided between a rural populist tendency and an urban right-wing populist tendency? Furthermore, since PS is male-dominated but attempts to attract more women, are there gendered tendencies within PS
which affect their efforts in doing so? In this article, I explore these questions by Public Justifications Analysis based on a Voting Advice Application. I find that while the PS mainstream is left-wing and conservative, rural and female candidates voice left-populism more often, and the “anti-immigrant”
faction diverges from the party mainstream with their economic right-wing position. PS also uses justifications based on economic efficiency, which seems to be a typically Finnish manifestation of right-wing populism, in light of studies on Finnish political culture.