MEP Paavo Väyrynen has informed the public that he is resigning from his roles in the Centre Party’s party council, party leadership and working committee. Väyrynen will nevertheless continue his work in the European Parliament and has promised not to relinquish his Centre Party membership.
Väyrynen has served as a Centre Party representative in either the Finnish Parliament or the European Parliament for over four decades. He was Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for 13 years cumulatively under different governments, in addition to holding other ministerial portfolios. He was also the Centre Party candidate in the 1988, 1994 and 2012 presidential elections.
“I’ve recently had to face the facts that the party structures as they currently exist make it impossible for me to influence the future of Finland, Europe and all mankind,” the veteran politician said a statement he released Monday.
Väyrynen says he realised soon after the coalition government’s decisions last spring that he no longer had an influence in Centre Party policies. He says the last few months have only strengthened this feeling.
“From now on I will try to defend Finland’s interests by seeking out fellow like-minded Finns, whether independent voters or members of other parties. One of my first tasks will be to ensure that the citizen’s initiative that I started on Finland’s departure from the eurozone will be given a fair hearing in the Finnish Parliament,” he said.
“NCP has the upper hand”
Väyrynen said that he had high hopes after the April 2015 parliamentary elections, in which the Centre Party won the most votes and gained the prime minister's position after several years in the opposition.
He says that, unfortunately since then, the party’s coalition partners, the centre-right National Coalition Party, have gained an upper hand in setting the government’s agenda. The populist Finns Party, which gained the second highest number of votes and also secured a place in the three-party coalition, gave up its principles too easily after it rose to power, Väyrynen said.
He says a crucial development was when only liberal Centre Party politicians whose views were similar to the NCP were appointed to ministerial and key assistant positions, a trend that continued in the choice of parliamentary group members.
“An unholy alliance of political power has been born in the party. The liberals now determine policy and are supported by a bunch of Lutheran revivalist politicians. Supporters of the party’s long-term agrarian tradition have been sidelined,” he said.
He says it is best to recognize when you are defeated and retreat.
“This decision is a very personal one. For the last few decades most of my political energy has been devoted to addressing inner-party turmoil. I want a new start; I want to free up my energy to be able to affect policy that furthers my objectives directly.”
