Green Party chair Sofia Virta divides activists ahead of congress

A majority of Green Party activists rate chair Sofia Virta’s performance positively, but a significant minority say she is too narrowly focused on social policy and risks marginalizing the party, a Yle survey shows.

Yle sent the survey to about 80 party activists ahead of this weekend’s statutory party congress in Turku, the last before next spring’s parliamentary elections. Nearly 40 activists responded, including members of the party council, district leaders and other party figures. Responses were handled anonymously because criticizing the leadership publicly could cause problems for those active in the party, Yle said.

The majority of respondents said Virta has succeeded as chair, praising her bold public presence and personal popularity, which they said has positively reflected on the party’s support. Background data from Yle’s polling shows that under Virta the Greens have overtaken the centre-right National Coalition Party as the favourite among highly educated women.

Activists specifically credited Virta for engaging young voters. One respondent described her as quick-witted, knowledgeable and approachable, and said she is building a “hype” around herself that could spill over to the party. Another said she creates belief in a Green comeback.

But critics said Virta comes across as a “one-issue person” whose expertise outside social policy is either lacking or does not get properly aired. Some said she has unintentionally helped reduce the Greens to a small party focused on a single theme. One activist said Virta performs well when given a script for panels or interviews but is not a party politician who genuinely understands the issues.

On the Greens’ success in challenging the government on climate and environmental policy, opinions were almost evenly split. Slightly more than half said the party has done well, while nearly half disagreed. Many said the issues themselves do not get enough attention in public debate, though the government is easy to criticize because it has no climate and environmental policy. Some activists called for bolder challenges and a more constructive tone, saying the party had been too populist and conflict-seeking on certain issues, such as hunting.

On the debt brake agreement that binds future governments to fiscal consolidation targets, about two-thirds of respondents supported the Greens’ decision to join it. The Left Alliance was the only parliamentary party to stay out. Supporters said it was smarter to influence policy from within than to complain from outside. Opponents doubted the agreement would hold and said it would stifle genuine economic debate. The party congress will also consider a motion from 45 activists calling for withdrawal from the debt brake deal. The party board has recommended rejecting the motion as it stands and instead proposing a vague formulation.

Three activists commented on Virta’s performance on the record, Yle said.

Tags: Green Party, Sofia Virta, Finnish politics