You’re Invited to a Finnish Tea Party

Unless you’re gay … or Muslim … or Greek.

In early August, Timo Soini, the foreign minister of Finland, mounts a stage at the convention center in the town of Turku. The occasion is celebratory, marking the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Finns, the conservative party he heads, and his entrance into government for the first time following elections in April.

In the past 20 years, Soini has led the Finns from an insignificant also-ran to the country’s second-largest party, now governing in coalition with two other conservative parties, including Prime Minister Juha Sipila’s Centre Party. Soini has done so by being the voice of opposition. And yet, just three months after taking office, he’s being forced to explain why Finland agreed to sign on to a new €86 billion ($96 billion) bailout for Greece.

Allowing Greece to fail, he explains, would cost Finland from €3 billion to €4 billion (money it’s already lent to Athens) and weaken Europe strategically. Sticking to his principles and bringing down the government would have opened the door for political rivals and reduced his ability to shape a rescue package that Finland couldn’t block on its own. Soini characterizes his acquiescence as the inevitable result of the previous government’s commitments, which—unlike his Greek counterparts—he feels honor bound to uphold. “We are not Syriza,” he says. “And we won’t be.”

Like Syriza, however, Soini is learning that being in government means sometimes carrying out policies you oppose.

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