The Lapua Movement

An episode from Finland in the 1930s has lessons for us today. The nation was still reeling from the formation of the Soviet Union next door, and political factions split between the communists on the left (red) and the nationalist Lapua Movement on the right (white). Sure, most Finns weren't extremists, or even political, but they feared communism. When the right wing moved into violence, kidnapping, and election fraud, it lost support, yet gained power because the majority were afraid of them as well. In 1931, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud was elected president. He was a white, but moderate enough to be elected. Svinhufvud, however, believed in the rule of law and thwarted a coup attempt by the Lapua Movement. The lesson is that it's more important to elect leaders who care about the country as a whole than about their political party.