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Racist remarks the far-right Finnish minister Riikka Purra made in 2008 have recently resurfaced, sparking nationwide controversy and putting the politician’s newly secured position in Finland’s coalition government at stake.
Plagued with accusations after only three weeks of serving in office as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Purra is suffering from a newly tainted public image.
Under the username “Rikka,” Purra made several racist—often outright violent—blog posts in 2008.
In one, she spoke of a group of young immigrants she’d briefly interacted with on a train: “If they gave me a gun, there’d be bodies on a commuter train, you see.”
In another, she made racial slurs and asked, “Is anyone up for spitting on beggars?”
‘Stupid’
In response to the resurfacing of these comments, Purra didn’t immediately confirm or deny allegations made against her.
Instead, she noted that the comments had been written years before she entered politics—when she was in her 30s and in the prime of her career as a university researcher.
On Tuesday, Purra finally took responsibility for her actions, acknowledging her “stupid” 15-year-old comments while apologizing for any harm they may have caused.
“I’m not a perfect person, I’ve made mistakes,” said Purra. “I have expressed myself in ways that I would not accept today. […] In this position, stage of life and age, I would not write anything like that.”
While arguing that she does not tolerate any sort of racism, violence, or discrimination, Purra also said her comments were “taken out of context and evaluated in the present moment”—putting to question her sincerity.
Read also: UN Calls on France to Address Its History of Racist Policing
Amid the outrage surrounding her past comments, Purra has shown no interest in stepping down and has instead said that she hopes that the nation, especially her critics, will leave her racist remarks in the past and solely judge her based on her performance in office.
At the request of Finland’s president Sauli Niinisto and in an attempt to clear its name, the new government released a statement assuring the Nordic nation that the entire cabinet is utterly committed to eradicating racism, both at home and worldwide.
Made up of four parties, the coalition government is led by conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, whose National Coalition Party took first place in last April’s elections while Purra’s Finns party placed second.
Playing down growing concerns, Purra said her party’s policies are “not based on extremism, racism or discrimination, but on pursuing the interests of Finland and Finns.” Instead, she argued, “Our immigration policy is legitimate and legal and there is nothing wrong or suspicious about it.”
Finnish politics has been here before
Since tightening immigration rules is high on the coalition’s agenda, Niinisto also found it necessary to clear the air, suggesting that racism and immigration are separate issues, often mistakenly put under the same umbrella.
Purra’s racist past reflects poorly on, and poses a serious threat to, Finland’s young government—but her scandal is in no way the first in the country.
Former Finns party leader Jussi Halla-aho had stepped down in 2012 after his own Islamophobic and racist comments resurfaced.
Similarly, former Economy Minister Vilhelm Junnila was forced to resign last month after making “Heil Hitler” jokes at a far-right event and calling for mass abortions in Africa to tackle the intensifying climate crisis facing the world. Interior Minister Mari Rantanen was recently accused of being a supporter of the Great Replacement theory after having hashtagged it in several tweets, but has denied all allegations made against her.
While Purra has been openly criticized by opposition and coalition politicians alike, the question remains whether she will be forced out of office.
Prior to the April elections, former Prime Minister and Social Democratic party leader Sanna Marin refused to enter a coalition with the Finns Party, and Purra’s remarks have only given more weight to some of the concerns she cited then.
“This was condemned. Perhaps now there is more understanding,” said Marin on Tuesday. “Every human being is valuable and human dignity is indivisible. Everyone has the right to live in safety, regardless of their background.”
Antii Lindtman, Chairman of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group, has called into question this government’s values and priorities. “When the deputy prime minister says that it would never occur to her to resign over previous writings, the question arises as to what the government’s policy on hate speech and racism is,” he said.
In the same vein, former interior minister Maria Ohisalo said Purra “has not only racist but also violent content on the same platform. No regrets, no resignation.”
Unsurprisingly, PM Orpo’s support hasn’t faltered like the rest, saying Purra’s apology had been “the right solution” and that the young government “will not fall here.”
