Tony Halme - Political Career

Political Career

Halme did not hide his nativist views and tended to speak in a rash, direct manner, which tended to catch the public ear. He also suggested that Finland should send drug dealers to Russian prisons as this would result in considerable cost savings, and a prison term in Russia would be a more effective deterrent. The populist party of True Finns took him as an independent candidate in the parliamentary elections of 2003. His share of about 17,000 votes was the 2nd highest in the Helsinki parliamentary district and 5th highest overall. Most of his voters were from the poorest suburbs where unemployment is high. Some political analysts believed the Halme phenomenon to be a form of protest, but some feared this would mark the rise of a political racist right-wing movement.

During his parliamentary career, Halme raised controversies. The day after the elections, Halme referred to President Tarja Halonen as a lesbian in a radio interview. Halme stated that if a lesbian can be president of Finland and he can be a member of Parliament, anything seems possible. A huge uproar ensued as much of the Finnish media treated the statement as a personal attack on Halonen; Halonen herself made no comment. Halme later apologized, stating that he was sorry that the statement had been interpreted as an insult and that he had been under the genuine impression that Halonen was a lesbian.