Laura Huhtasaari of Finland takes up the cudgels

by Sally Ross

https://www.politico.eu/article/laura-huhtasaari-president-election-finland-marine-le-pen/

Is the spirit of Boudica, the Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led a frenzied uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61, returning to contemporary Europe?

Maybe. At present a number of European women politicians seem to be taking up the cudgels against the predations of globalization, the EU, and inappropriate mass immigration. There is Anne Marie Waters in the UK, of course Marine Le Pen in France, and now out of Finland there emerges Laura Huhtasaari.

The 38-year-old Huhtasaari is young, silver-blonde and outspoken. She has made strong comments about homosexuality, immigration, and pro-Finnish nationalism, which seem to have broken the ice with the traditionally frozen mold of Finnish politics. Huhtasaari’s bombastic speeches have earned her the moniker of “Finland’s Marine Le Pen” in the local press, and though it is unlikely she will win elections any time soon, her candidacy has given encouragement to the idea that the autochthons of the European continent are finally beginning to stir.