For the Poor (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''Köyhien Asialla'') is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, not situated anywhere on the traditional political map. It was founded in November 2002. The party is one of the smallest in Finland, as it has no seats in either the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, and has only ever held one municipal council seat in the city council of

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

(2008–2012). The party was removed from the official 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 by herself. Before forming a party of her own, Savola was a member of the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

, the

Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...

, and Reform Group. In its political programs for municipal elections, the party has described itself as being founded on a

Christian values Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations and different schools ...

Elections

The party For the Poor participates in the Finnish parliamentary elections, the European Union parliamentary elections and the regional council elections in

Kainuu Kainuu ( sv, Kajanaland) is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic of Karelia). Culturally Kai ...

. In the parliamentary elections of 2003 the party only signed up candidates in the

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, He ...

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 Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Lapland,

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the regi ...

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 Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

, 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 A Tobin tax was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another. It was suggested by James Tobin, an economist who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Tobin's tax was originally intended to penali ...

. 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 Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...

and

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

. The chairperson Terttu Savola was among the list of

Independents in Espoo Independents in Espoo (in Finnish: ''Espoon Sitoutumattomat'', in Swedish: ''De Obundna i Esbo'') is a local political party in the municipality of Espoo, Finland. In the 2004 municipal elections the party got 4360 votes (4.3%). It got three seats i ...

candidates. None of the candidates were elected. The party was denied access to the

Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

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 Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962) is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2019. He was el ...

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 Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...

. The incumbent president

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisati ...

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.Results by party
, 27 October 2004

, 30 October 2008, Ministry of Justice of Finland

References

External links

*
The party programme
{{Finnish political parties 2002 establishments in Finland Christian political parties Non-registered political parties in Finland Political parties established in 2002