List of political parties in Finland

Political parties in Finland lists political parties in Finland. Finland has a multi-party system, with three strong parties, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.

Political parties represented in the Parliament

The Social Democratic Party of Finland ( _fi. Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue, SDP) is mostly supported by the urban working class but it also has some support among small farmers, white-collar workers, and professionals. In the 1995 parliamentary elections, SDP gained a plurality in Finland's parliament with 28% of the vote. But as it won far less than an overall majority, a five-party governing coalition was formed, baptized the "rainbow coalition". In the 1999 general election, SDP maintained its plurality with 22.9%, but the Centre Party came in as a near second with 22.4%. The coalition continued with little changes. In the 2003 election, it came second after the Centre Party, and the result was a Centre-SDP coalition, called "red earth" ("punamulta", from red as the color of socialism and earth as the symbol of rural interests). In the 2007 elections SDP gained 21.4% of the votes and was the third biggest party. For the party this was the worst result since 1960s.

Finland's two other major parties are the Centre Party ( _fi. Suomen Keskusta), traditionally representing rural interests, and the conservative National Coalition Party ( _fi. Kansallinen Kokoomus), which draws its major support from the business community and urban professionals. The Centre Party won nearly 20% and the National Coalition Party 18% of the vote in 1995. In the 1999 elections, they won 22.9% and 21% of the vote, respectively. The National Coalition Party was the second-largest party in the SDP-led coalition, which was rounded out by the Swedish People's Party ( _sv. Svenska Folkpartiet, SFP) and the Green League ( _fi. Vihreä Liitto), which left the cabinet after the decision to build a fifth nuclear reactor. In 2007 elections the National Coalition Party was the biggest winner gaining 22.3% of the votes. The party was bigger than the SDP for the first time ever. In the same elections, however, the Centre Party remained the biggest, gaining 23.1% of the votes.

The Left Alliance ( _fi. Vasemmistoliitto), the SDP's rival on the left, gained 11% of the vote in 1995 and joined the SDP-led cabinet. In the 1999 elections it again got 11% of the vote, and remained in cabinet. It was, however, not included in the Center-SDP cabinet, and in 2007, the Left Alliance was again left into the opposition. The Left Alliance was formed in May 1990 and replaced the Finnish People's Democratic League ( _fi. Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto, SKDL), a group that represented the Communist Party of Finland ( _fi. Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue, SKP) in the Parliament. Political activity by Communists was legalized after the Continuation War in 1944.

Registered political parties

Under Finnish law, a political association that fulfils certain conditions may become an officially registered party. A registered party may nominate candidates in all national and local elections, and a party that is represented in parliament is entitled to a government subsidy relative to its number of seats. To qualify as a registered party, an association must have bylaws guaranteeing democratic internal organization and must be able to present 5,000 supporters who are eligible to vote. A party that fails to win a single seat in two consecutive parliamentary elections is stricken from the register but may apply again. (In contrast, a voluntary association has a requirement of 20,000 supporters and is not eligible for party subsidy.)

Registered political parties as of 2007 and their leaders:

Stricken from the register:

Seven parties were stricken from the register after 2007 elections, e.g. Finnish People's Blue-whites.

Historical political parties

* Finnish Party (Suomalainen Puolue, SP) 1860s-1918
* Young Finnish Party (Nuorsuomalainen Puolue, NSP) 1870s-1918
* Communist Party of Finland (Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue, SKP) 1918-1990
* National Progressive Party (Kansallinen Edistyspuolue, ED) 1918-1951
* Socialist Workers Party of Finland (Suomen Sosialistinen Työväenpuolue) 1920–1923
* Patriotic People's Movement (Isänmaallinen kansanliike)
* Finnish People's Democratic League (Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto) 1945–1990
* Socialist Unity Party (Sosialistinen yhtenäisyyspuolue) 1946-1955
* Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders (Työväen ja Pienviljelijöiden Sosialidemokraattinen Liitto) 1959–1973
* Socialist Workers' Party (Sosialistinen Työväenpuolue) 1973–
* Democratic Alternative (Demokraattinen Vaihtoehto) 1986–1990
* Forces for Change in Finland (Muutosvoimat Suomi) 2002–

Parties in Åland

The autonomous region of Åland has its own party system. These parties are listed in the following table:

ee also

* Index of political parties to browse parties by name
* List of political parties to browse parties by country
* List of political parties by ideology to browse parties by name
* Membership of internationals to browse parties by membership of internationals
*Political parties in Åland.
*Parliament of Finland
*Government of Finland
*President of Finland
*Elections in Finland