The image of the Greens as an arrogant and hermetic party must be altered, and there is no correct way to support and vote for them, Sofia Virta, who will succeed former chair Maria Ohisalo, told MTV3 News in her first interview as party leader.
After a heavy defeat in the April elections, the Greens are looking for a fresh start in the opposition and elected a new party leadership, including the chair, to succeed the resigned Ohisalo.
Virta is a Master of Arts in Teaching, a therapist and an entrepreneur. She is also a second-term MP but has not been in the inner circle of the Greens, therefore, her victory marked the wish of the party to have a change.
Positioning herself more on the right than the previous party chair, she emphasised the need to balance the country’s indebted economy and bring green alternatives to the fore. Personally, she has admitted to being fond of fast cars and occasionally eating meat.
Her Greens are a market liberal party placed in the middle between the left and the right.
Addressing the party conference on Sunday, Virta said: ”To have livelihood and work, Finns need companies. And companies need affluent and skilled people to have growth and internationalisation. Productivity must be awakened on a short notice.”
In the next year’s European elections, the Greens will stand out as the most pro-EU party and within ten years, the country might even have a Green Prime Minister, said Virta.
There is a mountain to climb. In a 200-seat parliament, the Greens have 13 MPs, and in the latest survey in June, the party gathered 7.3% support.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Read more with EURACTIV
Slovak election campaign starts with small parties risking vote waste
Source: euractiv.com
