Finnish PM moves to break up coalition, kick out nationalists

HELSINKI, June 12 (Reuters) - Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila moved on Monday to break up the three-party coalition, saying he wanted to eject the nationalist Finns Party days after it chose a new anti-immigration leader.

Sipila's call sets the stage for a period of wrangling as politicians try to patch together a new ruling alliance.

He spoke after meeting the Finns Party new leader, Jussi Halla-aho, who posted a message on Facebook saying the other parties had not agreed to his demands for tougher immigration policies.

The Finns party, the country's second-biggest parliament group previously known as True Finns, chose Halla-aho on Saturday, in a move seen steering it towards a more right-wing populism.

Halla-aho, who wants Finland to leave the European Union, was fined by Finland's Supreme Court in 2012 for comments on a blog that linked Islam to paedophilia and Somalis to theft.

"Discussions are over. Our proposal: There are is no basis for continuing cooperation with Finns Party," Sipila from the Centre Party wrote on his Twitter account.

The statement was echoed, word for word, by Finance Minister Petteri Orpo, the leader of the third coalition partner, pro-EU National Coalition Party, on his Twitter account.

The Centre and National Coalition parties together have just 86 of parliament's 200 seats.

Snap elections are very rare, and analysts said the most likely way forward would be to bring the smaller Swedish People's Party and Christian Democrats into the government. Both have said they are ready to negotiate.

"That will be a coalition with a very narrow majority, and the parties will not come to rescue the government for free," said Ilkka Ruostetsaari, professor of politics at the University of Tampere.