I spent last weekend in Helsinki, where the “political class” are deeply troubled by the rise of the populist and nationalistic “True Finns” party, which is riding a wave of anti-European sentiment. Alex Stubb, who has just lost his job as Finland’s foreign minister and is now minister for Europe and trade, noted that the True Finns are still rising in the polls – and are now at 23%, up four points from the general election earlier this year. Olli Rehn, Finland’s man at the European Commission (with the unenviable portfolio of looking after the euro), said that he longs to take on Timo Soini, the leader of the True Finns, in a direct debate. Read more