By Michel Gay

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The Finnish Green Party adopted a new program on June 19, 2018 under the leadership of MP Olli-Poika Parviainen.

With regard to nuclear energy, and for the first time in Europe, this green party is now "open to all research and development on low-carbon technologies that respect the environment. The most recent nuclear projects in Finland have been slow and problematic. We do not want it to start over again. "

According to Parviainen, the Greens do not elude problems. They do not want to impose on future governments any caps on the use of nuclear energy, particularly in order to enable the addition of a third nuclear reactor at the Loviisa plant.

No opposition was expressed, either, to the project to build a Russian reactor (AES 2006) of 1200 megawatts.

"We have no dogmatic position, only a small minority of voters voted against nuclear energy," Green Party Chairman Touko Aalto told the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat. "Before, and until today, people resisted nuclear energy for ideological reasons."

From now on, the new program urges that "green economic policy [be] based on sustainability and reason", and that the ecologically-minded must work with the market economy to promote their objectives.

According to Aalto, the "wellbeing of humanity" is now considered to be of the highest importance, which explains this change.

Under this approach, the Green Party is taking into account the national economy and will attempt to protect Finland against unemployment and lower wages. "In difficult economic conditions, declines in income hit the most difficult people to hire," says Aalto.

Now polling at 15% of those intending to vote, the Finnish Greens led by Touko Aalto are enjoying their coming-out party! They intend to become a force to reckon with in the legislative and European elections of spring 2019.

Before any other European Green party, the Finnish Greens have perhaps sensed that renewable energy is becoming less and less feasible -- and that the tide of public opinion is turning away from wind, in favor of nuclear energy.