Govt avoids collapse, finds alternative

The government avoided collapse on Tuesday as a group of Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) MPs seceded the populist party and vowed to support the current coalition led by Suomen Keskusta( Centre Party) leader Juha Sipilä.

By Tuesday night, 22 members of the originally 37 Finns Party parliamentary caucus were reported to leave, including the Parliament Speaker Maria Lohela.

Twenty of them were forming a new group called New Alternative, and the affiliation of the remaining two was unannounced.

Prime Minister Sipilä concluded late Tuesday that the government could continue without changes and claimed the crisis is over.

The crisis began on Monday morning as Sipilä met with Jussi Halla-aho, the newly elected hardliner leader of the Perussuomalaiset and the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) leader, Finance Minister Petteri Orpo.

Sipilä and Orpo announced their values were too far from Halla-aho for the coalition cooperation to continue.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sipilä was on his way to submit a formal resignation to the President, Sauli Niinistö when he heard of the secession and made the new decision.

Sipilä told media in Turku, near the Presidential Summer Palace in southwestern Finland, that he had consulted legal authorities. He said it was not necessary to resolve the government and reappoint the ministers.

The transitional period will culminate in a parliamentary vote of confidence for the cabinet. Sipilä said Tuesday evening that the vote will be held in a few days depending on the parliamentary working schedule.

With the support from the defected group, the cabinet will have the backing of at least 106 MPs out of the 200-member parliament.

All the current Perussuomalaiset ministers have joined the walkout. The ruling coalition now comprises the Keskusta, the Kokoomus and the New Alternative.

Halla-aho said the secessionists "betrayed their voters". He compared the breakaway to the split of the predecessor populist "Finnish Rural Party" in early 1970s, which he said had been the party's darkest moment.

After a landslide victory in the 1970 election, the party split in 1972 as over half of the MPs formed a breakaway party. The Perussuomalaiset today is not a direct successor of the Rural Party, but its founder Timo Soini was an employee of the Rurals and has praised the Rural leader Veikko Vennamo as his idol.

Even though a breakup was speculated on Monday night, the scale of the secession astounded observers. Sipilä assured the media Tuesday night that he had no idea of the size of the walkout until it actually happened.

Sampo Terho, minister for culture and European affairs, represents the New Alternative in the "leading trio" of the coalition. He told media on Tuesday night that the breakaway group is likely to launch a new political party.

The secessionists are unlikely to get public party funding. Last year, the legislation was changed so that in the event any parliamentary group splits, the original parliamentary group keeps all the public financing and possible secessionists could not walk away with their original financing.