Elections show sharp political divisions in Helsinki region

print this

By Kalle Silfverberg
     
      The success of the True Finns in the recent Parliamentary elections drew attention to the shifting political divisions in the greater Helsinki area. There are many contrasting realities in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, and they are also reflected in the statistics.
      Support for the True Finns is the smallest in areas with higher average income, and greatest in the east of Helsinki, where per capital income is lowest.
     
The higher the population of speakers of foreign languages in an area, the more people would vote for the True Finns.
      On the other hand, there was a high concentration of True Finns voters in the northwest corner of the Helsinki region, where conditions are quite rural, and where there are relatively few immigrants.
     
The largest colour-coded map in the picture shows the varying amounts of support for the True Finns in different parts of the Helsinki region. The numbers on the map refer to various areas in the metropolitan area, and are explained below.
     
1. The Swedish People’s Party got its greatest concentration of support in Kauniainen. In the city’s polling station number three the party got 38.1 per cent of the vote.
     
2. Seutula in Vantaa is Finland in miniature. The election result was very similar to the national result, although the True Finns were stronger and the Centre Party was weaker than on the national scale. Nevertheless, the Centre Party’s 10 per cent showing was the party’s best result in the Helsinki region.
     
3. The Social Democratic Party got 32.3 per cent of the vote in Havukallio in Vantaa, which is the highest in the whole region. Other concentrations of support for the SDP are along the main rail line from south to north, and in the east of Helsinki.
     
4. District A in Jakomäki in the north of Helsinki had the highest concentration of True Finns votes (35.3 per cent) and the lowest percentage for the National Coalition Party (9.0 per cent)
     
5. Myllypuro in the east of Helsinki brought the Christian Democrats their highest share of the vote (5.3 per cent).
     
6. The Left Alliance did best in eastern parts of the centre of Helsinki. In the A district of Vallila it got 25.1 per cent of the vote.
     
7. Kallio in the centre of Helsinki was the best area for the Greens. In the area’s electoral district C the party’s share declined from the previous elections, but was still 29.9 per cent.
     
8. On the garrison island of Santahamina the National Coalition Party (45 per cent) and the True Finns (30.6 per cent) did well. The Greens only got 3.4 per cent, but the Swedish People’s Party did worse – a flat zero.
     
9. Kaartinkaupunki in the centre was the worst for the True Finns – just 3.9 per cent.
     
10. Jussi Halla-aho (True Finns) got 71 personal votes in his own Eira neighbourhood – the fourth largest personal score in the area.
     
11. In Westend in Espoo 67 per cent of voters voted for the National coalition Party. The region, which is known for its posh seashore villas, gave the Social Democrats 4.4 per cent of the vote, and the Left Alliance got just one per cent.
     
12 In Iivisniemi in Espoo, local resident Timo Soini got 17.1 per cent of the votes cast in the area.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.5.2011

More on this subject:
 More than a quarter of residents in some areas speak a foreign language at home

KALLE SILFVERBERG / Helsingin Sanomat
kalle.silfverberg@hs.fi