Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
I assume the UK will recognise Catalunlya if and when the EU does
Which would be never, if the EU recognised Catalonia it would lose Spain and it cannot afford to lose 2/5 of its biggest economies in the space of two years.
Unless and until Spain recognises Catalonian independence the EU will not do so.
What % of Spains GDP is in Catalonia (assuming it doesn't migrate to Spain)?
25%.
Wealthier than Spain on a per capita basis then
Yep. I believe the figures I saw quoted at the time of the referendum were that Catalonia had 16% of the population of Spain but 25% of the GDP. Not sure how much of that is likely to transfer out though.
Interesting problem for Spain if there is a "tax strike" in Catalonia.....
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
I assume the UK will recognise Catalunlya if and when the EU does
Which would be never, if the EU recognised Catalonia it would lose Spain and it cannot afford to lose 2/5 of its biggest economies in the space of two years.
Unless and until Spain recognises Catalonian independence the EU will not do so.
What % of Spains GDP is in Catalonia (assuming it doesn't migrate to Spain)?
25%.
Wealthier than Spain on a per capita basis then
Yep. I believe the figures I saw quoted at the time of the referendum were that Catalonia had 16% of the population of Spain but 25% of the GDP. Not sure how much of that is likely to transfer out though.
Interesting problem for Spain if there is a "tax strike" in Catalonia.....
As I said in the previous thread though - how do you "tax strike" in a modern state where your income tax is deducted at source, and VAT is included in the price of goods and services? The only effective way I can see is if companies owned by nationalists refuse to remit the taxes they collect to Madrid, but that's probably going to piss off any unionist employees they have.
Any tax strike will hit the catalan region the hardest......when schools start to close, hospital staff dont get paid and flights stop arriving, the idea will soon seem less clever. The banking sector has already sided with madrid.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
I assume the UK will recognise Catalunlya if and when the EU does
Which would be never, if the EU recognised Catalonia it would lose Spain and it cannot afford to lose 2/5 of its biggest economies in the space of two years.
Unless and until Spain recognises Catalonian independence the EU will not do so.
What % of Spains GDP is in Catalonia (assuming it doesn't migrate to Spain)?
25%.
Wealthier than Spain on a per capita basis then
Yep. I believe the figures I saw quoted at the time of the referendum were that Catalonia had 16% of the population of Spain but 25% of the GDP. Not sure how much of that is likely to transfer out though.
Interesting problem for Spain if there is a "tax strike" in Catalonia.....
As I said in the previous thread though - how do you "tax strike" in a modern state where your income tax is deducted at source, and VAT is included in the price of goods and services? The only effective way I can see is if companies owned by nationalists refuse to remit the taxes they collect to Madrid, but that's probably going to piss off any unionist employees they have.
It will mean that Spain will have to put its own Civil Service in place though, to enforce that collection.
If you are a Spanish Remainer tonight do you:- 1.Whinge about the referendum result and ask for another referendum? 2.Threaten a hard Catexit? 3.Send for Gina Miller? 4.Bomb Guernica? 5.Have another drink with Jean Claude Juncker? 6.Ask for the EU Army to be mobilised? Only one of the above is the correct answer.But which one?
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
I assume the UK will recognise Catalunlya if and when the EU does
Which would be never, if the EU recognised Catalonia it would lose Spain and it cannot afford to lose 2/5 of its biggest economies in the space of two years.
Unless and until Spain recognises Catalonian independence the EU will not do so.
What % of Spains GDP is in Catalonia (assuming it doesn't migrate to Spain)?
25%.
Wealthier than Spain on a per capita basis then
Yep. I believe the figures I saw quoted at the time of the referendum were that Catalonia had 16% of the population of Spain but 25% of the GDP. Not sure how much of that is likely to transfer out though.
Interesting problem for Spain if there is a "tax strike" in Catalonia.....
As I said in the previous thread though - how do you "tax strike" in a modern state where your income tax is deducted at source, and VAT is included in the price of goods and services? The only effective way I can see is if companies owned by nationalists refuse to remit the taxes they collect to Madrid, but that's probably going to piss off any unionist employees they have.
It will mean that Spain will have to put its own Civil Service in place though, to enforce that collection.
The whole thing is incredibly messy.
What are Catalonia's fiscal powers at present? Do they collect the "national" taxes and remit Madrid its share or do are national taxes collected by Madrid and a block grant made to the Catalans?
At 14:27 today Finnish MP for Lapland Mikko Kärnä (who is in the governing party but not in the Government) tweeted a tweet saying "Congratulations to the independent Republic of #Catalonia. Next week I will submit a motion to the Finnish Parliament for your recognition." https://twitter.com/KarnaMikko/status/923904022171578368
At 18:17 Jon Rogers published an Express article headed "EU TURMOIL: Finland preparing to go against Spain and RECOGNISE Catalonia’s independence", with the strapline "FINLAND could be the first country to officially recognise Catalonia as a republic state, in a move that would put the Scandinavian country in direct opposition to the European Union (EU)." http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/872094/spain-catalonia-independence-news-EU-finland-Mikko-K
At 14:27 today Finnish MP for Lapland Mikko Kärnä (who is in the governing party but not in the Government) tweeted a tweet saying "Congratulations to the independent Republic of #Catalonia. Next week I will submit a motion to the Finnish Parliament for your recognition." https://twitter.com/KarnaMikko/status/923904022171578368
At 18:17 Jon Rogers published an Express article headed "EU TURMOIL: Finland preparing to go against Spain and RECOGNISE Catalonia’s independence", with the strapline "FINLAND could be the first country to officially recognise Catalonia as a republic state, in a move that would put the Scandinavian country in direct opposition to the European Union (EU)." http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/872094/spain-catalonia-independence-news-EU-finland-Mikko-K
So in the space of seven hours, a tweet from a parliamentarian was chinese whispered into a full-on "FINLAND RECOGNISES CATALONIA SOON!!"
At 22:30 Viewcode thought "bugger this for a game of soldiers" and resumed searching for leaked online copies of "The Orville" (S01E07)...
Someone got a bit excited on the wiki and on the strength of what presumably turned out to be a random tweet, had said The Gambia had already recognised Catalonia, but that's no longer the case.
Asia and Africa don't appeared to have weighed in yet.
I know I bring it up a bit, but Somaliland will probably be really annoyed if the Catalan republic gets recognised by somebody, even another unrecognised state - at present they finally have someone else who is entirely unrecognised besides themselves.
I know I bring it up a bit, but Somaliland will probably be really annoyed if the Catalan republic gets recognised by somebody, even another unrecognised state - at present they finally have someone else who is entirely unrecognised besides themselves.
Having been to Somaliland, it is pretty disgraceful that a stable body in the Horn of Africa has not been recognised.
Equally disgraceful is the way that the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic has been treated, after a land grab by Morocco. The Polisario unilaterally ended military action, but have been thwarted at every turn, usually by Spain - because of fears over Catalonia.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Spain has all the major backing, of course, and civil war seems an outlandish suggestion, but I think it wrong to suggest if Spain were to turn genuinely, brutally repressive that few will care - Europe, particularly Western Europe, would be very upset to have the dark underbelly of a brutal crackdown that cannot be ignored right at its heart. The EU gets upset at Poland messing around with its own judiciary for heaven's sake, something more extreme than people getting bruised and battered would be impossible for institutions and nations to ignore.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
"Internal matter for Spain" if the descendants of Franco start shooting people the left across Europe will be incandescent, Spain could well end up being kicked out of the EU.
Poor old Catalonia. Now its currency is controlled from outside its jurisdiction, and it has a foreign central bank that will make rate-setting and QE decisions mainly based on the interests of others.
So no change there.
The next El Classico should have some needle. Can Douglas Ross MP referee it?
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Er....rubbish. The great acheivemnt of the EU was supposed to be that the methods of the Genrrallissimo have been banished to the history books. Peace in Europe and all that.
Spain still 8/1 for the 2018 World Cup. If Catalunyans Xavi, Busquets, Alba, Pique, Bellerin and Fabregas are missing (left out on political grounds, refuse to play, conscripted to fight in civil war etc...) that looks like a value lay.
Long term it is unsustainable due to nationalism and regionalism. It will therefore collapse in time.
That's an assertion without much evidence besides Brexit, and Britain has always been something of a special case. IIRC, most if not all campaigns for regional separatism within the EU that want independence from their parent state want to become EU members.
There is a difference in perception between being a medium-seized fish in a small pond where all the other fish are the same as each other and potentially hostile, and a small fish in a large pond where there are many different species.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Er....rubbish. The great acheivemnt of the EU was supposed to be that the methods of the Genrrallissimo have been banished to the history books. Peace in Europe and all that.
And now Brussels will quietly turn a blind eye?
The EU deliberately stoked the fires of secession in the former Yugoslavia, leading to innumerable atrocities and the death of several hundred thousand people, in order that it it could expand to incorporate former territories of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It fostered the heirs to the Ustase.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
We are heading for a Canada style FTA not no deal.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
The Country's MP for Lapland has said that he intends to submit a motion to the Finish Parliament recognising Catalonia. Mr Karna who is part of the ruling centre party also sent his congratulations to Catalonia after their declaration earlier today.
Finland fought Russia for independence and again in WW2. Ceded parts of Karelia to Russia as part of the peace deal. It is a homogenous nation, 100 years old, with a common language. So I suppose that on the face of it there may be some similarities with the Catalans.
I thought there were at least three languages in Finland - Finnish, Swedish and Sami.
I know you're all getting your cob off for whatever today's anti-EU theme is, but for all those of you saw Blade Runner 2049 and wondered how ******* appeared in the movie, you might like to see this link, although spoiler alert, natch.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
I assume the UK will recognise Catalunlya if and when the EU does
Which would be never, if the EU recognised Catalonia it would lose Spain and it cannot afford to lose 2/5 of its biggest economies in the space of two years.
Unless and until Spain recognises Catalonian independence the EU will not do so.
What % of Spains GDP is in Catalonia (assuming it doesn't migrate to Spain)?
25%.
Wealthier than Spain on a per capita basis then
Yep. I believe the figures I saw quoted at the time of the referendum were that Catalonia had 16% of the population of Spain but 25% of the GDP. Not sure how much of that is likely to transfer out though.
Thought it was 16% population, 19% GDP and 25% exports.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
The Country's MP for Lapland has said that he intends to submit a motion to the Finish Parliament recognising Catalonia. Mr Karna who is part of the ruling centre party also sent his congratulations to Catalonia after their declaration earlier today.
Finland fought Russia for independence and again in WW2. Ceded parts of Karelia to Russia as part of the peace deal. It is a homogenous nation, 100 years old, with a common language. So I suppose that on the face of it there may be some similarities with the Catalans.
I thought there were at least three languages in Finland - Finnish, Swedish and Sami.
Karelian too, and obviously a number of non indigenous languages.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
The Country's MP for Lapland has said that he intends to submit a motion to the Finish Parliament recognising Catalonia. Mr Karna who is part of the ruling centre party also sent his congratulations to Catalonia after their declaration earlier today.
Finland fought Russia for independence and again in WW2. Ceded parts of Karelia to Russia as part of the peace deal. It is a homogenous nation, 100 years old, with a common language. So I suppose that on the face of it there may be some similarities with the Catalans.
I thought there were at least three languages in Finland - Finnish, Swedish and Sami.
Karelian too, and obviously a number of non indigenous languages.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Er....rubbish. The great acheivemnt of the EU was supposed to be that the methods of the Genrrallissimo have been banished to the history books. Peace in Europe and all that.
And now Brussels will quietly turn a blind eye?
The EU deliberately stoked the fires of secession in the former Yugoslavia, leading to innumerable atrocities and the death of several hundred thousand people, in order that it it could expand to incorporate former territories of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It fostered the heirs to the Ustase.
I think you're giving them too much credit. For a start, the Balkan wars started in 1991 prior the EEC becoming the EU, and (at that point) it had very little in the way of foreign policy apparatus. (Indeed, you can date the breakup of Yugoslavia to Kosovan Albanians campaigned for independence in the 1980s.)
However, Germany's recognition of Slovenia as independent certainly hastened the fall. But that was Germany, not the EEC or the EU.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Er....rubbish. The great acheivemnt of the EU was supposed to be that the methods of the Genrrallissimo have been banished to the history books. Peace in Europe and all that.
And now Brussels will quietly turn a blind eye?
The EU deliberately stoked the fires of secession in the former Yugoslavia, leading to innumerable atrocities and the death of several hundred thousand people, in order that it it could expand to incorporate former territories of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It fostered the heirs to the Ustase.
I think you're giving them too much credit. For a start, the Balkan wars started in 1991 prior the EEC becoming the EU, and (at that point) it had very little in the way of foreign policy apparatus. (Indeed, you can date the breakup of Yugoslavia to Kosovan Albanians campaigned for independence in the 1980s.)
However, Germany's recognition of Slovenia as independent certainly hastened the fall. But that was Germany, not the EEC or the EU.
Both Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union broke up because of the collapse of Communism. Once peoples became free of the yoke of Russian oppression, they weren't going back. It was much later that the newly formed countries got interested in joining the EU, and many remain outside.
Malcolm Rifkind: "We should be under no illusuions. This is the worst crisis that Western Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War."
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Rubbish. This is an internal matter for Spain, and few will care even if Rajoy has to resort to methods used by the Generalissimo to quell the Cataloons - they are mad to have declared UDI.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
Er....rubbish. The great acheivemnt of the EU was supposed to be that the methods of the Genrrallissimo have been banished to the history books. Peace in Europe and all that.
And now Brussels will quietly turn a blind eye?
The EU deliberately stoked the fires of secession in the former Yugoslavia, leading to innumerable atrocities and the death of several hundred thousand people, in order that it it could expand to incorporate former territories of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It fostered the heirs to the Ustase.
I think you're giving them too much credit. For a start, the Balkan wars started in 1991 prior the EEC becoming the EU, and (at that point) it had very little in the way of foreign policy apparatus. (Indeed, you can date the breakup of Yugoslavia to Kosovan Albanians campaigned for independence in the 1980s.)
However, Germany's recognition of Slovenia as independent certainly hastened the fall. But that was Germany, not the EEC or the EU.
Warning, pedant mode.
I believe that, following L'Acte Unique in 1986, it ceased to be the EEC and became the EC. So in 1991, it would be the EC, not the EEC.
Two more VA gubernatorial polls out today: Northam up 7 in one; Gillespie up 2 in the other.
Way tighter than I would have thought.
Normally in the 1st year after a Presidential election which elected a new President both the VA and NJ gubernatorial elections go to the party out of the Oval Office but one state is reasonably close and the other effectively a landslide. When the Democrats win it is normally NJ which is a landslide and Virginia reasonably close and for the Republicans Virginia which is a landslide and NJ close.
Hence in 2001 for instance the Democrats won NJ by 15% but Virginia by just 5% and in 2009 the Republicans won Virginia by 17% but NJ by just 4% and in 1993 the Republicans won Virginia by 18% but NJ by just 1%. I expect a similar pattern on Tuesday week.
Reports Finland and Argentina about to recognise Catalonia
Finland?! That would put the cat amongst the EU pigeons.
The Country's MP for Lapland has said that he intends to submit a motion to the Finish Parliament recognising Catalonia. Mr Karna who is part of the ruling centre party also sent his congratulations to Catalonia after their declaration earlier today.
Finland fought Russia for independence and again in WW2. Ceded parts of Karelia to Russia as part of the peace deal. It is a homogenous nation, 100 years old, with a common language. So I suppose that on the face of it there may be some similarities with the Catalans.
I thought there were at least three languages in Finland - Finnish, Swedish and Sami.
Karelian too, and obviously a number of non indigenous languages.
Only a few thousand Karelian-speakers. Karelian as a language is spoken mostly in the Republic of Karelia and Tver Oblast, both in Russia.
Historically the main divide in Finland was between Swedish- and Finnish-speakers, with the Swedophones being mostly in the west and southwest of the country. The Swedish speakers formed up to 20% of the population in the 19th century and were the economic and cultural elite, resulting from Finland's former status as part of Sweden. In the 19th century under Russian rule Finnish-speakers began to have more influence as the country looked for a identity that was neither Swedish nor Russian: "Swedes we are no more, Russians we can never be. We must become Finns."
With independence both languages were given official status and school children are taught both. However, in practice Finnish has become more and more prominent and the proportion of Swedish-speakers has dropped to under 10% today, and that includes the almost wholly Swedish speaking autonomous Åland islands between the Finnish and Swedish mainlands. Helsinki was originally a Swedish-speaking city (Helsingfors) but you'll see far more signage in English than Swedish there today.
A lot of hot air on the net about the Catalan vote being the fault of the EU - absolutely not. This is an internal matter between Spaniards (which they all are). to try and say Brussels has a hand in this is untrue, it would be like the fake news put out by certain tabloids that the EU was trying to fix the 2017 General Election.....
Comments
The whole thing is incredibly messy.
1.Whinge about the referendum result and ask for another referendum?
2.Threaten a hard Catexit?
3.Send for Gina Miller?
4.Bomb Guernica?
5.Have another drink with Jean Claude Juncker?
6.Ask for the EU Army to be mobilised?
Only one of the above is the correct answer.But which one?
Long term it is unsustainable due to nationalism and regionalism. It will therefore collapse in time.
At 18:17 Jon Rogers published an Express article headed "EU TURMOIL: Finland preparing to go against Spain and RECOGNISE Catalonia’s independence", with the strapline "FINLAND could be the first country to officially recognise Catalonia as a republic state, in a move that would put the Scandinavian country in direct opposition to the European Union (EU)."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/872094/spain-catalonia-independence-news-EU-finland-Mikko-K
At 20:39 Big_G_NorthWales, paraphrasing from the article, said "he [Kärnä] intends to submit a motion to the Finish [sic] parliament recognising Catalonia" and that he had "sent his congratulations to Catalonia after their declaration earlier today"
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1754960/#Comment_1754960
At 21:26 Hyufd, referring to Big_G's article, upgraded it further to "Finland is about to recognise an independent Catalonia apparently."
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1754975/#Comment_1754975
So in the space of seven hours, a tweet from a parliamentarian was chinese whispered into a full-on "FINLAND RECOGNISES CATALONIA SOON!!"
At 22:30 Viewcode thought "bugger this for a game of soldiers" and resumed searching for leaked online copies of "The Orville" (S01E07)...
Asia and Africa don't appeared to have weighed in yet.
Newsnight
Edit: "The risk is some form of civil war breaking out."
Equally disgraceful is the way that the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic has been treated, after a land grab by Morocco. The Polisario unilaterally ended military action, but have been thwarted at every turn, usually by Spain - because of fears over Catalonia.
Brexit is a much bigger crisis for Western Europe, because it risks turning the UK into a hostile state if no deal is reached, as seems likely.
So no change there.
The next El Classico should have some needle. Can Douglas Ross MP referee it?
And now Brussels will quietly turn a blind eye?
There is a difference in perception between being a medium-seized fish in a small pond where all the other fish are the same as each other and potentially hostile, and a small fish in a large pond where there are many different species.
However, Germany's recognition of Slovenia as independent certainly hastened the fall. But that was Germany, not the EEC or the EU.
Way tighter than I would have thought.
I believe that, following L'Acte Unique in 1986, it ceased to be the EEC and became the EC. So in 1991, it would be the EC, not the EEC.
Hence in 2001 for instance the Democrats won NJ by 15% but Virginia by just 5% and in 2009 the Republicans won Virginia by 17% but NJ by just 4% and in 1993 the Republicans won Virginia by 18% but NJ by just 1%. I expect a similar pattern on Tuesday week.
Historically the main divide in Finland was between Swedish- and Finnish-speakers, with the Swedophones being mostly in the west and southwest of the country. The Swedish speakers formed up to 20% of the population in the 19th century and were the economic and cultural elite, resulting from Finland's former status as part of Sweden. In the 19th century under Russian rule Finnish-speakers began to have more influence as the country looked for a identity that was neither Swedish nor Russian: "Swedes we are no more, Russians we can never be. We must become Finns."
With independence both languages were given official status and school children are taught both. However, in practice Finnish has become more and more prominent and the proportion of Swedish-speakers has dropped to under 10% today, and that includes the almost wholly Swedish speaking autonomous Åland islands between the Finnish and Swedish mainlands. Helsinki was originally a Swedish-speaking city (Helsingfors) but you'll see far more signage in English than Swedish there today.