True Finns keep Europe on national agenda Timo Soini is back in the spotlight. The leader of the eurosceptic True Finns party and the bête noire of traditional Finnish parties is once again influencing the national debate. With municipal elections taking place next month, Mr Soini is keen to turn them as much as possible into a referendum on Europe and the bailouts of the likes of Greece that have been so unpopular in the Nordic country. "This is going from bad to worse," Mr Soini says of the eurozone crisis from his parliamentary office. The state of Spain will apply for a bailout. The big question is: before or after our elections? He guffaws with laughter, adding that if Madrid did so beforehand it would help his prospects. Nobody is perfect. I'm a sinner like everyone else," he says. Finland's status as one of the most hardline northern eurozone countries owes much to the emergence of Mr Soini and his party. Their 19 per cent score in last year's parliamentary elections caused great anguish among the traditional parties, many of which are in a sprawling six-party coalition government. It also sparked a move from the Social Democrats, whose leader is the finance minister, Jutta Urpilainen, to toughen their stance on the euro significantly, leading Finland to become the only country to demand collateral from Greece and Spain as part of their international rescues. Alex Stubb, Finland's EU minister, concedes of the True Finns: "They have had a considerable impact on the debate . . . In European elections we always used to talk about anything that Europe had nothing to do with like pensions and childcare. Now in local elections we are talking about Europe. But the latest polls suggest that that influence is not necessarily translating into success at the ballot box. Certainly the True Finns will do better than in the previous local elections in 2007. The latest political barometer for YLE, the state broadcaster, from August shows them getting 15.8 per cent of the vote, up from 5.4 per cent in 2007. But that compares with a peak polling score of 22.7 per cent in the summer of 2011. Much of this is down to the relative solidity of the governing parties. The True Finns are only in fourth place behind the National Coalition party of the prime minister and Mr Stubb, the Social Democrats and the Centre party. There is some satisfaction among Social Democrats that their tough public stance on the euro has appeared to stem the True Finns" rise from last year. I wouldn't say we stole their clothing at all. But we did move a little in their direction, and I think that is in line with the mood of the Finnish people," says a senior Social Democrat. A survey from the EVA think-tank earlier this year found that 50 per cent of Finns would vote in favour of EU membership in a referendum with 35 per cent against. Moreover, 54 per cent of Finns felt the government was too lenient on eurozone countries that had run into trouble. But the tougher stance is causing tensions in the coalition. Jyrki Katainen, the prime minister, was forced to reprimand other ministers - predominantly the Social Democrat foreign minister - for loose talk over the euro. "I'm a bit sick at how they are drifting into True Finn territory," says a person close to the prime minister. Mr Soini may be a politician adept at self-promotion - his office is dominated by a big picture of himself and a Greek bond from 1899 ("useless," he adds) - but he is not without his troubles. A fracas in the Helsinki branch of the party caused a candidate - a former gold-medal winning athlete - to step down while several MPs have run into problems for anti-gay or racist comments. It is totally normal. It can't halt us," Mr Soini says. Still, his anti-EU rhetoric is as sharp as ever. Everybody knows the boat is leaking and that the captain lied. Meanwhile, Finland's political elite is equally clear that while Mr Soini's ideas may influence the debate they should not prevail. Mr Stubb says: "What Soini and others want to do is create a new north-south divide. I don't want a new Berlin Wall.