- Far-right Finnish finance minister apologizes for bigoted posts
- Controversial comments threaten new government’s image and meetings with US Vice President
- Party leader’s prejudiced past poses significant challenge to the government’s credibility
Finnish far-right finance minister Riikka Purra apologised for 15-year-old discriminatory posts.
She apologized for the injury and resentment caused by the “stupid” posts, describing them as “dumb.”
The Finns Party of Ms. Purra secured prominent cabinet positions in the new administration of conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
In only three weeks, however, it has been plagued by accusations.
It is not a good look for a government that has scarcely settled into office, nor for a prime minister who is scheduled to meet with US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday in Helsinki.
President Sauli Niinisto, who was attending the NATO summit in Lithuania, advised the new government to “take a clear stance of zero tolerance for racism” which was shortly adopted.
Mr. Orpo made it plain on social media that there was “zero tolerance for racism” and that each government minister was committed to combating racism both domestically and internationally.
Ms. Purra stated on Twitter, “I am not perfect, and I have made mistakes.” In addition, she co-signed a government statement with Mr. Orpo and two other coalition party leaders assuring Finns that the entire cabinet was committed to equality and nondiscrimination.
Her anti-immigration, Euroskeptic Finns Party finished second in April’s elections, behind Mr. Orpo’s National Coalition Party. In addition to holding the position of finance minister, she is also Finland’s vice prime minister.
However, Finnish media discovered “tikka”‘s 2008 racist blog posts on a party colleague’s blog.
One letter dated 25 September 2008 complained about immigrant youth on a train. “If they gave me a gun, there’d be bodies on a commuter train, you see.”
She also referred to “Turkish monkeys” and made a racial slur against black street vendors peddling “fake Vuittons” while attending a conference in Spain: “Greetings from Barcelona, there is no ‘alarming immigration problem’ to be seen here.”
She originally denied writing the statements, but she noted that they were written before she entered politics. Accepting that she had written and said “stupid or absurd” things, she insisted, “In this position, stage of life, and age. I would never write something like that.”
Tuesday afternoon, she acknowledged that the remarks were hers, but clarified that they were made when she was 15. “I do not tolerate any form of violence, racism, or discrimination.”
She became Finns Party leader after Jussi Halla-aho’s departure, boosting support to 20.1%.
He is now the speaker of the house. Due to prejudiced 2008 blog remarks on Islam and Somalis, he resigned from a parliamentary committee in 2012.
Even though it is not the only scandal, Riikka Purra’s prejudiced past poses the greatest threat to Finland’s new government.
Her party colleague Vilhelm Junnila was compelled to resign as economy minister at the end of June for making references to Adolf Hitler and abortions in Africa at a far-right event in 2019.
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, a member of the same political party as Ms. Purra, stated last week that she does not believe in conspiracies after media reports claimed she believed Finns were being supplanted by other races.
The coalition led by Orpo consists of four parties. They have assured Finns that they will reduce government debt and restrict citizenship and residency requirements.
