Finland’s far-right Finance Minister Riikka Purra has apologized for a series of racist comments she published 15 years ago, the BBC writes.
Purra apologized for the harm and offense her comments may have caused. Purra’s party won several high-ranking positions in the government led by Petteri Orpo, the leader of Finland’s conservative party, in March.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, who is currently attending the NATO summit in Vilnius, has indicated that the new government would be wise to take a clear position and show no tolerance for racism. Soon after, Orpo announced on social networks that
each of the government ministers committed to fighting against manifestations of racism both at home and abroad.
The Finance Minister’s eurosceptic and anti-immigration party came second in the spring election, and Purra also holds the post of Finland’s deputy prime minister.
The scandal erupted after the Finnish media revealed her comments published in 2008 on a party member’s blog. On the 25th of September, 2008, a comment about immigrants on a train was published, and Pura also used the term “Turkish monkeys” and made a racist statement describing street vendors selling “fake Vuitton bags” in Barcelona, where she attended a conference.
Initially, the minister did not admit that she was the author of these comments, only stating that they were written several years before she entered politics.
On the evening of the 11th of July, the minister announced that she was the author of the comments,
but emphasized that they were written 15 years ago.
Purra became the leader of the Finnish Party after her predecessor Jussi Halla-aho stepped down. He is now the speaker of parliament, but in 2012 he had to resign from a parliamentary committee after blog posts written in 2008 in which he made racist remarks about Somalis came to light.
The finance minister’s racist past is currently the most serious threat to Finland’s new government, although it is far from the only scandal. At the end of June, in connection with references to Adolf Hitler made in 2019, the Economy Minister of Finland, a member of the Purra’s party, Vilhelm Junnila, had to resign from his position.
The four-party coalition led by Orpo has promised Finns to reduce government debt and tighten immigration conditions, especially for Finnish citizenship and residence permits.
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