In the short term, the support for the EU has increased in Europe," Soini told Reuters in an interview. He remains critical of EU institutions and his Finns party, which describes itself as nationalist, was a prime mover in tightening the country's immigration controls last year. Then known as True Finns, Soini's party and his anti-EU rhetoric struck a chord among Finland's working class at the 2011 election, winning 19 percent of the vote. Until 2014, it belonged to the same populist grouping in the European Parliament as Britain's pro-Brexit UKIP party. Asked whether he would like to continue into a third decade as leader after the party's congress next summer, the 54-year-old Soini was non-committal.

Source: The Star October 06, 2016 10:52 UTC