Finnish parliamentary election, 1951
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland
on 1 and 2 July 1951.
Kekkonen had governed first with the Swedish People's Party and Progressives, but since January 1951 also the Social Democrats had joined his government. The rationing of goods was ending gradually and the war reparation payments to the Soviet Union were to be completed by 1952. Prime Minister Kekkonen sought to reduce inflation by persuading the employers' organizations and labour unions to refrain from wage increases for the time being. In May 1951, these organizations agreed not to raise wages or prices for five months. During this "castle peace" or civic peace, the Social Democrats took most leadership positions in the Central Federation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK in Finnish). Apparently the Communists benefited from the fact that the Social Democrats had agreed to govern Finland with the Agrarians, and had thus "betrayed" (according to some Communists' campaign rhetoric) their fellow left-wingers. The economy's and inflation rate's stabilization possibly hurt the low-income workers (a likely constituency of the Communists) more than the white-collar workers or the businessmen, and this could partly explain the Communists' gain of five deputies. The Finnish People's Party had been formed as the Progressives' successor, and this fresh start can have contributed to its five-seat gain. After the elections, Kekkonen continued to serve as Prime Minister, forming his third government in September 1951. He introduced a new economic stabilization programme, which tied the prices and wages to an automatic full compensation.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
on 1 and 2 July 1951.
Background
Urho Kekkonen (Agrarian) had served as Prime Minister since March 1950, after losing the February 1950 presidential election clearly to President J.K. Paasikivi.Kekkonen had governed first with the Swedish People's Party and Progressives, but since January 1951 also the Social Democrats had joined his government. The rationing of goods was ending gradually and the war reparation payments to the Soviet Union were to be completed by 1952. Prime Minister Kekkonen sought to reduce inflation by persuading the employers' organizations and labour unions to refrain from wage increases for the time being. In May 1951, these organizations agreed not to raise wages or prices for five months. During this "castle peace" or civic peace, the Social Democrats took most leadership positions in the Central Federation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK in Finnish). Apparently the Communists benefited from the fact that the Social Democrats had agreed to govern Finland with the Agrarians, and had thus "betrayed" (according to some Communists' campaign rhetoric) their fellow left-wingers. The economy's and inflation rate's stabilization possibly hurt the low-income workers (a likely constituency of the Communists) more than the white-collar workers or the businessmen, and this could partly explain the Communists' gain of five deputies. The Finnish People's Party had been formed as the Progressives' successor, and this fresh start can have contributed to its five-seat gain. After the elections, Kekkonen continued to serve as Prime Minister, forming his third government in September 1951. He introduced a new economic stabilization programme, which tied the prices and wages to an automatic full compensation.
Results
| Turnout | 74.6% | −3.6 |
|---|
| party | seats | votes | ||||
| proportion | amount | |||||
| Social Democratic Party of Finland Social Democratic Party of Finland The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many... |
53 | −1 | 26.52% | +0.2 | 480,754 | −13,965 |
| Agrarian League Centre Party (Finland) The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament... |
51 | −5 | 23.26% | −1.0 | 421,613 | −34,022 |
| Finnish People's Democratic League Finnish People's Democratic League Finnish People's Democratic League was a Finnish political organisation with the aim of uniting those left of the Finnish Social Democratic Party... |
43 | +5 | 21.58% | +1.6 | 391,134 | +15,596 |
| National Coalition Party National Coalition Party (Finland) The National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.The National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the True Finns... |
28 | −5 | 14.57% | −2.5 | 264,044 | −56,322 |
| Swedish People's Party | 14 | +1 | 7.20% | −0.1 | 130,524 | −7,457 |
| People's Party of Finland | 10 | – | 5.68% | – | 102,933 | – |
| Åländsk Samling | 1 | -- | 0.31% | −0.0 | 5,686 | −811 |
| Smallholders Party Small Farmers Party Party of Smallholders and Rural People , later renamed as the Small Farmers Party , was a political party in Finland. The party was founded in Seinäjoki on December 20, 1936, through the unification of Smallholders' Party of Finland , People's Party and Central League of Recession Committees... |
0.27% | −0.0 | 4,964 | −414 | ||
| Liberal League Vapaamielisten Liitto Liberal League was a Finnish liberal political party. VL existed from 1951 until 1965.The party was founded in spring 1951 by the minority of National Progressive Party, led by Helsinki group, as the party finished its existence. Most of the former Progressive party members joined the People's... |
0.27% | – | 4,936 | – | ||
| Radical People's Party Radical People's Party (Finland) Radical People's Party was a Finnish populist political party led by Ernesti Hentunen. The party was active in the 1940s and 1950s and it was strongly personified by its eccentric chairman. The Radicals participated three times in the parliamentary elections and once in the municipal elections.... |
0.25% | −0.0 | 4,486 | −676 | ||
| Swedish Liberal Party | 0.07% | – | 1,195 | – | ||
| Finnish People's Party Finnish People's Party Finnish People's Party was a minor political party in Finland. The party participated in the 1951 parliamentary elections and got 243 votes .... |
0.01% | – | 243 | – | ||
| Others | 0.02% | −0.3 | 305 | −4,873 | ||
| Total | 200 | -- | 100% | 1,812,817 | −67,151 | |
| Source: Tilastokeskus 2004; Votes of the Swedish Liberal Party and the Finnish People's Party only in print | ||||||