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The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe

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Abstract

In this chapter, Fagerholm records the history and contemporary status of the radical left in Finland. Since its foundation in the early 1990s, the Left Alliance (Vasemmistoliitto, VAS) is the only relevant radical left party in the country. VAS has continued the pragmatic traditions of its influential predecessor, the post-war umbrella organisation SKDL, and is today a fully integrated part of the Finnish consensus-oriented party system. As recent party behaviour indicates, VAS is ready to co-govern with (almost) any other Finnish party. The future prospects of the party are, however, somewhat uncertain. While the red-green and democratic socialist profile of the party has been consolidated in recent years, VAS has also faced a serious challenge in establishing itself as a viable alternative—not least among its once core working-class clientele.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

    Andreas Fagerholm

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  1. Andreas Fagerholm
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Correspondence to Andreas Fagerholm .

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  1. Sciences Po Grenoble, Saint Martin d’Hères, France

    Fabien Escalona

  2. Department of Politics, University of York, York, UK

    Daniel Keith

  3. Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Luke March

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Fagerholm, A. (2023). Finland. In: Escalona, F., Keith, D., March, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56264-7_7

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