Finland moves closer to backing Portuguese bailout after True Finns exit government talks

<p>HELSINKI – A nationalist party pulled out of negotiations about forming a new government, moving Finland closer Thursday to having an administration that supports the European Union bailout for Portugal.</p> <p>The True Finns party made a strong showing in April 17 elections. That forced Finland’s major parties to include it in initial talks on forming a new government.</p> <p>As a result, there were doubts in the 17-nation eurozone about whether Finland would maintain its backing for a rescue package being put together for Portugal.</p> <p>True Finns leader Timo Soini described the bailout as “no good,” and said his party would not back “mechanisms that don’t function.”</p> <p>”It means we won’t participate in government formation talks that advance the Portugal bailout … and take the European Union in the direction of a federal union,” Soini said. “It would have been nice to be in the government. It was a tough decision.”</p> <p>Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen, leader of Finland’s largest party, said he would now open talks with the second-place Social Democrats and three smaller parties – the Greens, the Swedish People’s Party and the Christian Democrats.</p> <p>Those parties have said they would support the bailout, with some conditions.</p> <p>The European Union expressed relief.</p> <p>”The Commission welcomes the agreement reached in Finland to support the decision on the program of economic adjustment for Portugal,” said Amadeu Altafaj Tadio, spokesman for Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.</p> <p>In last month’s election, Katainen’s conservative National Coalition Party won 44 seats in the 200-member Parliament, two more than the Social Democrats. With the three smaller parties the coalition would have a majority with 112 lawmakers. The True Finns, with 39 seats, will become the largest opposition party.</p> <p>Katainen gave the potential government partners until Monday to decide if they want to participate in the government talks, scheduled to begin on May 18.</p> <p>”Now that the main opposition force to bailouts is out of the running it will make Katainen’s job easier,” said Jan Sundberg, a professor of political science at the University of Helsinki. “The government parties-to-be shouldn’t find it difficult to agree on compromises in a country that has a decades-old tradition of consensus politics.”</p> <p>______</p> <p>Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.</p>