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Three opposition parties in Finland have called for a vote of no-confidence in the government, scheduled to take place this week, due to a racism scandal that has unsettled the ruling majority coalition. Finance Minister Riikka Purra and Economic Affairs Minister Wille Rydman, both from the far-right Finns Party, are at the center of the vote, which is likely to be an embarrassment for the government. However, it is not expected to result in the government’s downfall or the removal of Purra and Rydman.
Soon after assuming power in June, the right-wing government faced turmoil when Finnish media exposed past racist writings by several Finns Party ministers. In an attempt to prevent a collapse, the government recently agreed on a policy aimed at combating intolerance and presented it for parliamentary discussion.
Although the government’s new approach to anti-discrimination was brought up in parliament, the leading opposition party, the Social Democrats (SD), considered it too little too late. Nasima Razmyar, a member of parliament who proposed the no-confidence motion on behalf of the SD, stated that the government has not demonstrated the abandonment of racism.
The vote, scheduled for Friday, will include separate votes targeting Purra and Rydman individually, as supported by the SD, the Greens, and the Left Alliance. However, the opposition parties only hold a combined total of 67 seats in the 200-seat parliament, while the government commands 108 seats, making it unlikely for the motion to pass.
In July, Purra, who is also the leader of the Finns Party, apologized for anonymous comments she made online about 15 years ago. She claimed that many of her comments had been taken out of context. Prior to Rydman’s appointment, the Finns Party’s first economy minister, Vilhelm Junnila, was accused of making repeated Nazi references and had to resign just 10 days into his term.
After Junnila’s resignation, Rydman took his place, but his former girlfriend leaked private messages to Finland’s largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, which contained racial slurs.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Angus MacSwan)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
