 The populist Finnish Rural Party benefited from this discontent, and its charismatic leader, former Assistant Finance Minister and presidential candidate Veikko Vennamo accused the "old parties" of deliberately worsening the farmers' living standards, emptying the countryside and appeasing the Soviet Union too much by, for example, discouraging its open criticism in the Finnish political debate and media.The increasing mocking and criticism of Christianity, traditional family values, patriotism, army and military service, and parents' and teachers' authority also helped the Rural Party and the National Coalition Party to score big gains in the elections.The opposition parties were irritated by the student radicals' "conquest" of the Old University Students' House in Helsinki in November 1968.