National Coalition Party chairman Taru Tujunen says all of the conservative party’s candidates in the race for the European Parliament have their own Facebook pages.
Success spawned by US President Barack Obama’s grassroots internet campaign has not gone unnoticed in Finland. Parties on the left and right of the Finnish political spectrum are harnessing the social networking site as a valuable tool for reaching out to voters.
“Many political demonstrations today would not happen without out the internet. The web holds far more promise than threat,” says Left Alliance party secretary Sirpa Puhakka.
Centre Party Makes Candidates Web Savvy
The Centre Party continuously arranges web courses for its candidates. Vice party chair Tuomo Puumala says he believes many lessons can be drawn from Obama’s internet campaign tactics.
“People want to be active and participate. The Obama campaign posted all of his appearances directly on the online video website YouTube. This enables people to give direct comments and feedback,” says Puumala.