Seems to be, the amount of bullshit EU political elites are ready to allege being “the ruzzians!” is crazy. Then again, the local ones weren’t exactly coherent or trustworthy before 2022, or 2014, or really ever. Just the worst aspects of the most entitled class shirking responsibility, all the way down. Not to say there haven’t been trustworthy or coherent individuals at any one point among Finland’s politicians. But the absolute deluge of corruption, greed and shortsightedness that is today’s Finnish political elite is astounding. Irredeemable, absolutely not worth even trying to save. I think many working Finns would agree with this assessment, they aren’t stupid or blind. But the liberal brainworms our upbringing and bourgeois education gives almost guarantees they are inherently suspicious against both socialism and Russia. So trying to talk about Ukraine and capitalism will usually touch upon Russia and socialism, which can be a dicey area. Then again, I haven’t been out of the house agitating since May because of health issues, so maybe the local bargoers have been softened by reality to the subject of “What if everything isn’t Russia’s fault?”
Though I doubt he ever meant this regarding ideology. Then again even given Putin’s libbed up past as president, closer ties to China could change many minds. Maybe a soft launch of the idea for the (not necessarily too far) future?