Elections in Finland
Until the privilege is taken from them by force the Finns will continue to organise their political life in the fashion which they prefer—parliamentary democracy on the Western model. That they can do this, and that they can this week enjoy the luxury of a free gen- eral election, is one of Europe's pleasant surprises. But since every-- thing- which happens in Finland must be assessed primarily in the light of possible Russian reactions, the main interest in the present elections is to see how the Communists will fare. At present the Democratic League, which they control, holds 49 seats in Parliament out of 200. The Social Democrats and the Agrarians each hold almost equal numbers-5o and 49 seats respectively. The chances are that the Communists will lose votes, though it is doubtful whether a sharp decline in Communist popularity, which would give Russia the excuse for cracking the whip, would be to Finland's advantage. An increase in Communist votes, which would be equally unfortunate, seems even more unlikely. It is quite possible that the result of events in Yugoslavia may have been to sharpen the traditional feeling of restive independence which has always been as strong'in Finland as in any other country within the Russian orbit. But whatever the results of the election may be they cannot alter the essential nature of Finland's political life. She must continue to be ruled by a coalition and the Communists must continue to hold a higher proportion of seats in the Cabinet than their strength in the country justifies. Economically, Finland must continue to be bound to Russia even after the payment of reparation ends ; there is no chance of her join- ing the Marshall Plan, though her trade with the West will continue to expand, if only because Russia knows as well as anybody that without it Finland could never pay her reparations bill. When the time is ripe the Russians may try to force a more purely Communist Government on the country, but if they want an excuse for such a move, the elections are not likely to provide it for them.
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