Protests highlight Finnish frustrations over ongoing COVID restrictions

It was already dark, with a snowstorm in the forecast, when a few dozen delivery vans, RVs and private cars rolled into Helsinki city center on Friday night, honking their horns loudly.

This was the beleaguered culmination of ‘Convoy Finland’, a protest concept imported from Canada, which aimed to shut down the Finnish capital with a truck gridlock, and drew tens of thousands of people to its social media channels in recent days.

Police say 700 people lined the capital’s main street outside parliament in anticipation of the convoy’s arrival: many swarmed the streets blocking traffic, some waving Finnish flags or holding signs with “freedom” or anti-independence symbols. vaccination drawn on them.

Convoy organisers, far-right and anti-vaccine protesters, coronavirus deniers and ethno-nationalists, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government, a 50% cut in fuel prices and an end to all COVID restrictions.

But after an initial surge in online support for the convoy, factional bickering, bickering between several key organizers, disagreements over goals and even a call to storm parliament saw their support fade.

“It’s comedy gold. Like a road trip for the clinically confused,” said a Finn following the events on social media.

Still, police were proceeding cautiously after last-minute negotiations with convoy organisers, warning local residents of six days of potential disruption near the parliament building and banning drone activity in the city center. as they staged the protest with officers on horseback and a fleet of police vans.

“The value is more in the entertainment, people want to follow a kind of reality show that takes place in front of their eyes,” said Niko Pyrhönen of the University of Helsinki, a researcher who followed the evolution of the convoy on his Telegram channel.

“Within the groups they have been very disorganized and have had many disagreements,” he told Euronews.

The far right and the anti-vaccine movement converge

Generally speaking, most Finns complied with government restrictions during the first year of the pandemic, as a state of emergency was declared for the first time since World War II; schools were closed; bars, restaurants, and nightclubs were closed; Social distancing rules were introduced and people were told to work from home whenever possible.

That’s largely due to Finns’ natural tendency to trust government and policy experts.

But as the pandemic dragged on and rules were relaxed and tightened based on infection rates, there has been a growing pushback not only against continued restrictions, but highlights the lack of financial support for many workers.

There has also been a convergence of anti-vaccine groups, coronavirus deniers and the right wing of Finnish politics who have started adopting tactics that they see work abroad.

“I think the main thing is how supranational the extreme right is. Through social media, these protests seem to immediately replicate around the world,” said Oula Silvennoinen, a researcher at the Academy who studies historical and modern far-right and fascist movements.

“The Finnish far right is immediately inspired by what is happening in the United States and North America, and they have key points here and carry out similar activities.”

Silvennoinen said the extreme right-wing extremist has been actively courting anti-vaccines to integrate them into their own movement or gain a foothold in theirs.

“And that’s what you see among these people in the convoy, there are these Soldiers of Odin and other neo-Nazis there, and the Blue-Black League. [a fascist organisation] has openly expressed its support,” he added.

Other protests highlight frustrations as restrictions remain in place.

Although the convoy protesters represent a radical right-wing fringe, other protests this week in Finland show growing levels of frustration at what they see as a government slow to allow society to open up again.

While the Finnish government is widely seen as handling the coronavirus crisis well, Finland is one of the last EU countries to fully relax restrictions: this week, the government announced that business will not return to normal for bars. and restaurants. owners until early March.

That wasn’t far enough for hundreds of arts and culture workers who gathered outside the prime minister’s office on Thursday to call for an immediate end to the measures affecting their industries.

And on Friday, dozens of bars and restaurants across the country will defy legal restrictions on opening hours and welcome patrons back for late-night drinks and dinners.

“It is symbolic. And it seems important to me. We had 600 members in our Telegram group and everyone was saying we had to do something,” said Petter Larsen, a bar and restaurant owner in the southern coastal city of Porvoo, who has become the face of the ‘Open to the World’ campaign. public’.

Larsen, 35, told Euronews that they are not only protesting the current restrictions, but also against a law that makes it easier for the government to close hospitality venues.

“While they [the government] they can do what they want, they will make their decisions based on fear and feelings, instead of statistics and data,” he argued.

There has been an overwhelmingly positive response, Larsen said, about his decision to stay open and serve customers beyond what is currently legally permitted. However, he could face a suspension of his alcohol license, and local authorities have already warned him that at least one complaint was filed against him before he broke the rules.

Researcher Oulu Silvennoinen said he can understand that people in sectors hardest hit by COVID restrictions are “at the end of their tether”.

“Among them you see similar tones being adopted, ‘we’re tired of it’ or ‘the government is screwing everything up,’ which is understandable,” he added.

“That is radicalization in progress. If the restrictions were to continue, I have no doubt that at least some of these people would be found next in the anti-vaccine or convoy crowd.”