It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
A Finnish nationalist party has taken nearly a fifth of votes in the general election, partial results suggest.
With three-quarters of the votes counted, the True Finns were running neck-and-neck with the conservative NCP and the Social Democrats on around 19%. The party has an anti-immigration, eurosceptic stance, and its influence could affect EU bail-outs including the planned Portuguese rescue. A hostile Finnish government could theoretically veto the package.
With full results yet to be declared, the True Finns were on 19% support, a whisker ahead of the National Coalition Party (NCP) - part of the current centre-right government.
The Centre Party of outgoing Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi and the opposition Social Democrats also had roughly the same level of support, Reuters reported.
The strong showing for the True Finns meant the anti-euro party would at least "get an invitation to talks" on a new government, the agency quoted party leader Timo Soini as saying.