Social-democratic union of workers and small farmers

The Social Democratic Confederation of Workers and small peasantry (finn. Työväen yes Pienviljeliäin Sosialidemokraattinen Liitto , TPSL, from 1972 to Socialist Federation of Workers and small peasantry , Työväen yes Pienviljelijäin Sosialistinen Liitto ) was a social democratic party in Finland . It was founded in 1959 by the intra-party opposition of the Social Democratic Party of Finland . It broke up in 1973 and went back to the main party.

The party emerged as a result of the party dispute in the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In the dispute, the camp over the then party secretary Väinö Leskinen and the party leader Emil Skog faced each other. After the Skog camp got into the inner-party opposition and the conflict had escalated to the point of party exclusion, the opposition founded the TPSL in 1959 as a new political platform with Skog as chairman.

Politically, the TPSL differed from the main party in its clear support for President Urho Kekkonen's foreign policy and, in connection with this, in its friendlier relationship with the Soviet Union. The party participated in elections with moderate success. In 1962 she won only two seats in parliament and in 1966 seven. Emil Skog ran in the 1962 presidential election , but received only 3.0% of the vote.

The party chairman Skog tried repeatedly to achieve a reconciliation with the majority Social Democrats. A breakthrough could only be achieved after Väinö Tanner was replaced by Rafael Paasio as chairman of the Social Democratic Party in 1963 . Paasio was a prominent representative of the so-called Third Line of Social Democrats, which had tried for years to convey the opposing viewpoints.

The crucial talks began in late October 1963 and resulted in a contract signed by Skog and Paasio in February 1964. The treaty provided for the unification of the two social democratic parties and the dissolution of the TPSL. However, resistance in the left wing of the TPSL stirred against this regulation. At the party congress in the spring of 1964, Skog lost the chairmanship of the party to Aarre Simonen , who in turn postponed the execution of the reconciliation treaty. As a result, the minority representatives around Skog decided to return to the main party in private.

The Social Democratic Federation of Workers' and Small Farmers initially continued to exist, but was visibly emaciated by more returnees to the main party, with an increasingly left-wing membership remaining. In 1972 the party was renamed the Socialist Federation of Workers and Small Farmers, but was dissolved a year later and became part of the main party.

Election results

Parliamentary elections

year	MPs	be right	percent
1958	3	33 947	1.75
1962	2	100 396	4.36
1966	7th	61 274	2.59
1970	0	35 453	1.40
1972	0	25 527	0.99

Local elections

year	Mandates	be right	percent
1960	263	66 667	3.40
1964	313	63 348	2.95
1968	137	40 203	1.78
1972	30th	13 601	0.54

Presidential election

year	electors	be right	percent	candidate
1962	2	66 166	3.0	Emil Skog
1968	6th	46 833	2.3	Support from Kekkonens