When the Christian Democrats was founded in 1958, as the name
Finnish Christian League, the
communist-dominated
Finnish People's Democratic League was polling about 25 per cent and became the largest parliamentary grouping. That, together with lax alcohol laws, salacious publications and assistance from the
Norwegian KrF, sparked the Christian initiative. The 1960s were an 'incubation period', but there was a growing conviction of the need for parliamentary seats in the wake of liberal legislation. At the 'earthquake election' of 1970, after four years of a
popular front government, the CD only had
Raino Westerholm elected. Westerholm was a party chair between 1973 and 1982. Westerholm polled a creditable 8.8 per cent at the
1978 presidential election. The modest 'Westerholm effect' was a backlash for long-serving
Urho Kekkonen, who was backed by all of the larger parties. The party was a junior coalition partner in government
from 1991 to 1995, when it occupied the development aid portfolio. It was a
soft Eurosceptic party and stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in European affairs. After being renamed to "The Christian Democrats" in 2001, it moved to a
pro-European stance. English-speaking members of the party founded their own chapter in
Helsinki in 2004. Its monthly meetings attract immigrants to participate in societal matters and the issues that are particularly important to them. In 2005, a Russian-speaking chapter was also founded in Helsinki, Finland. == Ideology ==