ABSTRACT
This chapter follows the development of the VL and the MP, leaving their less successful Scandinavian sisters aside. It presents some information on their origins and development. The chapter explores some aspects of the organisational characteristics of the parties will be presented. In Finland, government is shared among the 'big three', the Social Democrats, the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Finland held its first election to the European Parliament in 1996. Since day-to-day politics takes place in parliament, it was hard for leaders of the central party organisation to be fully informed about the latest events. The party lost some members, and today, it has less than twice as many members as its Finnish sister party, which reported more than 8,000 members at the end of 2012. This is best illustrated by the fact that the VL, despite its inclusion in the executive, has been unsuccessful in its attempts to influence.
