According to an international study into extremist groups, some True Finn members condone political violence. This is part of a Europe-wide study on the rise of populist sentiment and seems to be a far-reaching phenomenon. The study mentions specifically internet sites which condone hatred and promote violence, without mention of blogger and popular racist Jussi Halla-aho's webforum Homma. Shockingly, the study was conducted after the Oslo massacre in which a radical racist targeted leftist politicians, leaving 77 dead.
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| Matti Putkonen, rapist, violent criminal, True Finn campaign manager |
The study was swiftly condemned by the True Finns' campaign manager, Matti Putkonen. Putkonen is of course remembered as a violent criminal, having been convicted of aggravated rape to an eight-month custodial sentence. He also had to pay a €10,000 fine, presumably to cover medical harm. Speaking at a live radio show, Putkonen called for the female chief of staff at the Ministry of Interior who published the study to resign, and said that the True Finn party does not condone violence. Thankfully, things did not escalate further this time as mr Putkonen was safely at the other end of the telephone line.
Matti Putkonen, rapist and habitual political opportunist is probably the best example of the True Finn hypocrisy when it comes to their value base. Former member of the Social Democratic party, former media rep for a labour union, Putkonen grabbed at the chance to jump ship just as soon as the polls showed a double-figure rise in support for the True Finn party. In a civilised society he would be on some kind of a registry already, and barred from holding a political office.
