Oren (Lasse) Oz
Israeli seeks seat in Finnish parliament
Israeli man, born to Israeli father and Finnish mother, running for parliament seat with populist party
An Israeli man, born to an Israeli father and a Finnish mother, could become the first Israeli to occupy a seat in the Finnish parliament.
Oren (Lasse) Oz, 30, of Even Yehuda, left Israel for Finland when he was 15. He had been an activist in the left-leaning Meretz party in Israel before moving to Helsinki.
Oz, an advisor with Accenture, a global management consulting and technology services company, said the plight of Finnish students inspired him to step into politics last year by joining the True Finns populist faction.
Finnish students opposed plans by the ruling Center Party to impose university tuition fees on students from outside the European Union, fearing it would be the first step towards imposing similar fees on Finns.
"I decided that I wanted to make a difference by establishing a force that could change the status quo," he said.
"In all party meetings that I organized I had recourse to my 'Israeli chutzpah,'" he said, referring to the Israelis' reputation of being audacious. "This quality is appreciated here, because most Finns are considered quiet people."
True Finns was established in 1995 based on a nationalistic platform. The party won three seats in the 2003 general elections, running on an anti-Euro platform.
"In the past the party used to be identified with clear right-wing ideology, but today we are trying to balance our views and to appeal to the center," added Oz who said there was a 35 percent chance he would become a legislator.
