Ideologically, IKL was ardently nationalist and anti-Communist, and endorsed an aggressive foreign policy against the Soviet Union and hostility towards the Swedish language. The creation of a Greater Finland was an important goal for the party.
The IKL uniform was a black shirt with blue tie, inspired by the Italian fascists, and also by the Herännäisyys movement, which had a tradition for black clothing. Members greeted each other with a Roman salute.
The IKL had its own youth organization, called Sinimustat (Blue-and-blacks), members of which were trained in combat. It was led by Elias Simojoki, a charismatic priest. Sinimustat were banned in 1936 (although they were immediately reformed as Mustapaidat ("Blackshirts")).
IKL became the most significant Finnish right-wing radical group of the 1930s, with a maximum of 100,000 members. The number of members was equal to that of the largest parties.
According to docent André Swanström, IKL was by far the most popular party among Finnish Waffen SS recruits.
Leaders & Founders
Members of the Parliament
Activists and politicians
Members
Ideology
At the core of IKL's ideology was opposition to parliamentarism. From its point of view, party politics led to fragmentation. The goal was national unity, one party and one strong leader. Other ideological strands were opposition to communism, nationalism and the emphasized role of national defense. Like Italian fascism, the party's goal was the so-called third way between the Marxist and bourgeois alternatives. They wanted to replace democracy with corporatism, where the power of parliament would be transferred to the government and instead of parliamentarism, power would be exercised by trade union representatives. However, the dictatorship was not spoken out loud. Although IKL emphasized the principle of one strong leader, there was no such thing in the movement. The management of the movement was collective.
The beginning of the movement
IKL was initially founded as a registered association in Hämeenlinna in June 1932 after the failure of the Mäntsälä rebellion. In December of the same year, Ajan Suunta, the voice of the party, started. The nominal leader of the movement was Vihtori Kosola, the leader of the Lapuan movement, but the real leadership of the Patriotic People's Movement was in Helsinki's academic circles. Kosola, who received a prison sentence as a result of the Mäntsälä rebellion, gradually became a ballast for the movement and was finally ousted in 1936.
The establishment of IKL was preceded by multi-stage and often contentious negotiations. The Academic Karjala Society (AKS) was strongly involved from the beginning. Disagreements arose, for example, over the language issue. There was also an argument about whether a movement uniting the bourgeoisie or a separate association should be founded, which should not be called a party. AKS launched the Suur-Suomi idea and authentic Finnishness, which alienated Swedish and bilingual people, including General Gustaf Mannerheim. The IKL condemned the freemasons, which expelled Rafael Haarla, a right-wing industrialist and background influencer of the Lapuan movement.
IKL's key figures were Vilho Helanen, leader of the Academic Karjala Society, party secretary Reino Ala-Kulju, Aja Suunna editor-in-chief Rauno Kallia, University of Helsinki professor of economic history Vilho Annala and criminal law professor Bruno Salmiala. Salmiala assured the president P. E. Svinhufvud that he would monitor the operation of the store within the framework of the law. The supporters of the Lapuan movement in Ostrobothnia, who were used to direct action, did not like the policy, but the rides remained in history. Although the Lapuan movement had already been controlled from the capital, the leadership of the extreme right now moved from the peasant houses of Ostrobothnia to the cabinets in Helsinki. In practice, IKL's line was defined by AKS and academic right-wing circles, especially professors Annala and Salmiala. The academic background of the patriotic people's movement and its influencers later made it a more influential influencer than its size in Finnish politics.
Parliamentary elections of 1933
At the same time as the founding of the IKL, the internal crisis of the Coalition escalated. In the coalition, the Lapuan movement's anti-communism was widely supported. In the previous year, 1932, the Coalition had supported the Mäntsälä rebels and the party had discussed a right-wing dictatorship as an alternative to be taken seriously. Kaarlo Koskimies, editor-in-chief of New Finland, was fired and replaced by S. J. Pentti. The "Lapua wing" led by Eino Suolahte and Edwin Linkomie, appointed priest politician Paavo Virkkunen as the party's chairman.
While preparing for the 1933 parliamentary elections, the IKL secretly decided that it would enter the elections in an electoral alliance with the Coalition and perhaps other groups, but after the elections the movement would form its own parliamentary group. The "Patriotic Electoral Alliance" of the Coalition and IKL received only 16.9 percent of the votes cast and 32 MPs, while the Coalition's support in the previous elections had been 42 seats. Voters had clearly rejected the right-wing Lapuan movement as a result of the violence and the Mäntsälä rebellion. The coalition was left with only 18 parliamentary seats, which was the weakest result in its history. My parliamentary group of 14 MPs made IKL a party, although the movement itself never used or wanted to use this designation.
Anti-parliamentarism and the self-defense of democracy
The operation of the Patriotic People's Movement with other parliamentary groups was problematic. A faction had entered the Finnish parliament that challenged the entire system. IKL's parliamentary group arrived at the opening of the Diet wearing a new military organization uniform, which included a black blouse and a blue tie. Especially during IKL's first parliamentary term, parliamentary sessions and even budget debates became the scene of heated exchanges between IKL and its opponents. IKL was a reminder of the real threat when it recognized itself in the parliament. In the same way, the far-right movements that opposed parliamentarism had come to power in different parts of Europe. The anti-parliamentarian ideology quickly isolated the IKL as a solitary actor, and the legality front that was in power in Finland waged a tough battle against the IKL in the name of self-defense of democracy. Already in 1933, the operation of militarily organized organizations was prohibited by law. In 1934, the Sweater Act was enacted, which prohibited the use of political insignia. In addition, laws were enacted that made it possible to limit or prohibit the activities of political organizations.
In 1934, IKL became embroiled in a foreign policy conflict. At the beginning of the 1930s, a strong far-right Estonian Freedom Fighters Union, or Vapsit, arose in Estonia. The youth organization Sinimustat led by IKL MP Elias Simojoki participated in the vaps movement and illegal activities in 1934, which attracted international attention. Konstantin Päts changed the Estonian government in a more authoritarian direction, but the Estonian extreme right continued to plan the coup. Sinimustat supported the Estonian far-right with, among other things, arms deliveries. When Sinimustie's role was revealed, the Finnish judiciary closed down the organization in January 1936. To continue the work, a new youth organization Mustapaidat was founded in the spring of 1936, but it was no longer as powerful an actor.
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