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Christian Democrats (Finland)

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Template:Short description Template:Expand Finnish Template:Infobox political party

File:Sari-Essayah-01 (cropped).jpg
Sari Essayah, CD leader since 2015.

The Christian Democrats (CD; Template:Langx; Template:Langx, KD) is a Christian democratic political party in Finland.<ref name="Nordsieck2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

It was founded in May 1958, chiefly by the Christian faction of the National Coalition Party.<ref name="christiandemocracy" /><ref name=Nordsieck>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It entered parliament in 1970. The party leader since 28 August 2015 has been Sari Essayah.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Christian Democrats have five seats in the Finnish Parliament. It is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum.<ref name="EU2014">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The party name was for a long time abbreviated to SKL (standing for {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Finland's Christian League), until 2001, when the party changed its name to the current Christian Democrats and its Finnish and Swedish abbreviations to KD. The CD was a minor party in the centre-right coalition government led by Prime Minister Esko Aho between 1991 and 1994 and was later a part of a rainbow coalition led by Jyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb between 2011–2015. It has been a part of the Orpo Cabinet since its formation on 20 June 2023. KD-lehti is the party's weekly newspaper. The party is a member of the European People's Party and the European People's Party Group.Template:Citation needed

HistoryEdit

When the Christian Democrats was founded in 1958, as the name Finnish Christian League, the communist-dominated Finnish People's Democratic League was polling about 25 per cent and became the largest parliamentary grouping. That, together with lax alcohol laws, salacious publications and assistance from the Norwegian KrF, sparked the Christian initiative.<ref name="Freston">Freston P., (2004) Protestant Political Parties Aldershot (Ashgate), pp.42</ref>

The 1960s were an 'incubation period', but there was a growing conviction of the need for parliamentary seats in the wake of liberal legislation. At the 'earthquake election' of 1970, after four years of a popular front government, the CD only had Raino Westerholm elected. Westerholm was a party chair between 1973 and 1982. Westerholm polled a creditable 8.8 per cent at the 1978 presidential election. The modest 'Westerholm effect' was a backlash for long-serving Urho Kekkonen, who was backed by all of the larger parties.<ref name="Arter">Arter, D. (2009) Scandinavian Politics Today Manchester (Manchester University Press), pp.126-128</ref>

The party was a junior coalition partner in government from 1991 to 1995, when it occupied the development aid portfolio. It was a soft Eurosceptic party and stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in European affairs. After being renamed to "The Christian Democrats" in 2001, it moved to a pro-European stance.<ref name="Freston"/> Bjarne Kallis, the party chairman between 1995 and 2004, was instrumental in the party's change of name and concern to attract a wider electorate, being able to draw votes from the Swedish People's Party and Finnish-speaking conservative and centrist voters.<ref name="Arter"/>

At the 2003 general election, the Christian Democrats polled its highest vote of 5.3%.<ref name="Arter2006">Arter, D. (2006), Democracy in Scandinavia, Manchester University Press, p.187</ref>

English-speaking members of the party founded their own chapter in Helsinki in 2004. Its monthly meetings attract immigrants to participate in societal matters and the issues that are particularly important to them. In 2005, a Russian-speaking chapter was also founded in Helsinki, Finland.<ref>Immigrants Template:Webarchive. Christian Democrats</ref>

IdeologyEdit

The party describes itself as following the tenets of Christian democracy. It emphasizes "respect of human dignity, the importance of family and close communities, defending the weak, encouraging resourcefulness and individual and collective responsibility, not just for themselves but also for their neighbours and the rest of God's creations". Membership is open to everyone who agrees with their values and aims.<ref name="christiandemocracy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The party also claims to be committed to protecting the environment.<ref>Environment and Energy Template:Webarchive Christian Democrats</ref> It is also orientated towards more socially conservative policies.<ref name="EU2014"/>

OrganizationEdit

File:Finnish Christian League parliamentary election campaign 1972.jpg
1972 Finnish parliamentary election campaign event of the Finnish Christian League in 1971.

LeadershipEdit

Party chairsEdit

First deputy chairsEdit

Party secretariesEdit

RepresentativesEdit

Current members of parliamentEdit

<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Members of the European ParliamentEdit

Sari Essayah was the most recent MEP of the party; she was elected to the European Parliament in the 2009 election but failed to win re-election in 2014.

Affiliated organisationsEdit

Election resultsEdit

Template:Christian Democracy sidebar

Parliamentary electionsEdit

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DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:15 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0

PlotData= 

 bar:% color:blue width:22   mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
 bar:1958 from:start till:0.17 text:0,2
 bar:1962
 bar:1966 from:start till:0.45 text:0,5
 bar:1970 from:start till:1.40 text:1,4
 bar:1972 from:start till:2.53 text:2,5
 bar:1975 from:start till:3.29 text:3,3
 bar:1979 from:start till:4.77 text:4,8
 bar:1983 from:start till:3.03 text:3,0
 bar:1987 from:start till:2.58 text:2,6
 bar:1991 from:start till:3.05 text:3,1
 bar:1995 from:start till:2.96 text:3,0
 bar:1999 from:start till:4.17 text:4,2
 bar:2003 from:start till:5.34 text:5,3
 bar:2007 from:start till:4.86 text:4,9
 bar:2011 from:start till:4.03 text:4,0
 bar:2015 from:start till:3.54 text:3,5
 bar:2019 from:start till:3.90 text:3,9
 bar:2023 from:start till:4.25 text:4,3
 </timeline>
Election Votes % Seats +/- Government
1958 3,358 0.17 Template:Composition bar Template:No
1966 10,646 0.45 Template:Composition bar Template:Steady Template:No
1970 28,228 1.40 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 1 Template:No2
1972 65,228 2.53 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 3 Template:No2
1975 90,599 3.29 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 5 Template:No2
1979 138,244 4.77 Template:Composition bar Template:Steady Template:No2
1983 90,410 3.03 Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 6 Template:No2
1987 74,209 2.58 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 2 Template:No2
1991 83,151 3.05 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 3 Template:Yes2
1995 82,311 2.96 Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 1 Template:No2
1999 111,835 4.17 Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 3 Template:No2
2003 148,987 5.34 Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 3 Template:No2
2007 134,643 4.86 Template:Composition bar Template:Steady Template:No2
2011 118,453 4.03 Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 1 Template:Yes2
2015 105,134 3.54 Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 1 Template:No2
2019 120,144 3.90 Template:Composition bar Template:Steady Template:No2
2023 130,394 4.22 Template:Composition bar Template:Steady Template:Yes2

Municipal electionsEdit

Election Councillors Votes %
1972 134 49,877 2.0
1976 322 85,792 3.2
1980 333 100,800 3.7
1984 257 80,455 3.0
1988 273 71,614 2.7
1992 353 84,481 3.2
1996 353 75,494 3.2
2000 443 95,009 4.3
2004 392 94,666 4.0
2008 351 106,639 4.2
2012 300 93,257 3.7
2017 316 105,551 4.1
2021 311 88,259 3.6
2025 299 86,428 3.6

European Parliament electionsEdit

Election Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
1996 63,134 2.81 (#8) Template:Composition bar New –
1999 29,637 2.39 (#7) Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 1 EPP-ED
2004 70,845 4.28 (#7) Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 1 –
2009 69,467 4.17 (#8) Template:Composition bar Template:Increase 1 EPP
2014 90,586 5.24 (#8) Template:Composition bar Template:Decrease 1 –
2019 89,204 4.87 (#8) Template:Composition bar Template:Steady 0
2024 75,426 4.12 (#8) Template:Composition bar Template:Steady 0

Presidential electionsEdit

Indirect electionsEdit

Electoral college
Election Candidate Popular vote First ballot Second ballot Third ballot Results
Votes % Seats Votes % Votes % Votes %
1978 Raino Westerholm 215,244 8.8 Template:Composition bar Template:Composition bar 8.8 (#2) Template:Lost
1982 Raino Westerholm 59,885 1.9 Template:Composition bar Template:Composition bar 1.9 (#7) Template:Lost

Direct electionsEdit

Election Candidate 1st round 2nd round Result
Votes % Votes %
1994 Toimi Kankaanniemi 31,453 1.0 Template:Lost
2006 Bjarne Kallis 61,483 2.0 Template:Lost
2012 Sari Essayah 75,744 2.5 Template:Lost
2018 Supported Sauli Niinistö 1,874,334 62.6 Template:Won
2024 Sari Essayah 47,820 1.48 Template:Lost

LiteratureEdit

See alsoEdit

Further readingEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Christian Democrats (Finland) Template:Finnish political parties Template:European People's Party Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control

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