Timo Soini and True Finns party rocked the balance of Finnish politics in the spring 2011 election by picking up 39 seats in the new Parliament with about 19 percent of the vote. With the increase of 34 parliament seats they surpassed all expectations. The vote result has been explained with Soini's Euro-sceptic and nationalistic agenda. But how did the True Finns attract such a number of new voters to the polls while also stealing votes from the established parties.
During the month before the election, the party leader Timo Soini toured the country visiting over hundred towns in all the provinces of Finland. His down-to-earth charisma and powerfully simplifying rhetoric attracted hundreds of listeners to town squares and market places.
This is a photo story of the last couple of days of Soini's election trail: Rallies in the Eastern Finland towns, car rides and quiet moments in local cafeterias followed by the hectic election night at Helsinki Music hall and True Finns celebration.
