Finnish parliamentary elections

[Tonitrus]

Prime Minister of Langiush.

[Solmyr]

In Finland, after having a female-led left-wing government, we elect a bunch of racists and Nazi sympathizers. https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/20/racism-and-rape-fantasies-the-pr-headache-facing-finlands-new-right-wing-government

The incoming economy minister has addressed a rally organised by neo-Nazis, while the Speaker of Parliament has a decades-long track record of race-related court convictions and deeply disturbing blog postings.

As Finland's new coalition government is sworn into office on Tuesday, incoming Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is facing a public relations headache over the Speaker of Parliament and the Minister for Economic Affairs, both positions filled by the far-right Finns Party.

[Threviel]

Hot damn, you guys are worse than us now.  

[Solmyr]

So, the last two weeks in Finnish politics:

1. Government of National Coalition, The Finns, Christian Democrats and Swedish Party barely managed to iron out a government program that everyone could accept.
2. One of The Finns' ministers, Vilhelm Junnila, got called out for his apparent connections with Neo-Nazis over the last several years, including holding a speech at a Nazi-organized event, posting pictures of swastikas on his social media, and posting a picture of a snowman shaped in the form of a KKK member. Foreign media, including German and Israeli, pick up on this.
3. Vote of confidence for Junnila just barely succeeds, but the Swedes vote against him - voting against a minister of another party within your own government is unprecedented. While most of the National Coalition MPs vote for Junnila, the only Jewish MP does not vote despite being present.
4. Even more Nazi shit that Junnila has done comes up. A few days later he "voluntarily" resigns, leaving everyone who supported him with egg on their faces.
5. The Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (The Finns) gets called out for posting a bunch of racist crap, including about the Great Replacement conspiracy theory and hoping that Finns "stay blue-eyed".
6. The Minister for Foreign Trade Ville Tavio (you guessed it, The Finns) gets called out for posting last year that EU leader Ursula von der Leyen is a "servant of the globalists" and should be "tarred and feathered".
7. Today, The Finns selected a replacement for Vilhelm Junnila - Wille Rydman, who last year was accused by multiple women for trying to groom them while they were underage.
8. Meanwhile in all of this, PM Petteri Orpo is desperately trying to avoid commenting on all this stuff going on with his government partner party.

So how is the summer political situation in your countries?

[Josquius]

Voting for nazis is a bad idea. Who'd have thought it.

[Solmyr]

Not as bad as trying to form a government with Nazis while trying to pretend you don't know anything about that.

[Syt]

FPÖ is leading in the polls in Austria. Christian Conservatives (who are leaning more and more towards Republicans in US - high ranking members of CSU recently met cordially with Ron DeSantis) and AfD lead the polls in Germany.

So .... yeah.

[Sheilbh]

FPÖ is leading in the polls in Austria. Christian Conservatives (who are leaning more and more towards Republicans in US - high ranking members of CSU recently met cordially with Ron DeSantis) and AfD lead the polls in Germany.

So .... yeah.

Although I think as European politicians dependent on American security you just kind of have to meet cordially with any American politician who visits, especially if they're running for President. Senators and Governors normally get a friendly reception. We're not America so even if their domestic politics is panic-inducing I'm not sure there's much we can do - and (I remember the Guardian letter writing campaign over Iraq), I suspect it may be counter-productive). Although I wouldn't give them a big reception or get them meeting the PM etc until they're actually their party's nominee.

We'll soon see with Spain and Vox too. I think the barriers between the centre right and radical or far right is now blurred across Europe, and that's happening at an increasing pace - I think Germany and the AfD are maybe the exception there as I believe there's still a strong sense that they're not an acceptable partner for the CDU.

At a European level there's also the EPP vote against the European nature restoration law - with the backing of the various radical and far right groups. On the one hand counter I actually think that's possibly a good thing - but I think it also reflects that blurring and, on a European level, there's lots of rumours of Meloni and her group wanting to form a coalition with the EPP (and based on Italy the plan would clearly then be to help take over the right).

[Tonitrus]

Are the balls of light going out all over Europe?  Will we see them lit again in our life-time? 

[Admiral Yi]

Are the balls of light going out all over Europe?  Will we see them lit again in our life-time? 

Good one. 

[Sheilbh]

And it continues:

Finnish far-right finance minister accused of racist online comments
Riikka Purra says she will not resign after being linked to racial slurs and threats of violence made in 2008
Jon Henley Europe editor
@jonhenley
Tue 11 Jul 2023 15.01 BST

Finland's new rightwing government has been plunged into fresh controversy after the discovery of racist and sometimes violent blogpost comments apparently written by the far-right Finns party leader and finance minister, Riikka Purra.

Purra, whose nationalist, anti-immigration party finished second in April's elections and holds nine cabinet posts, has neither confirmed nor denied writing the posts, which date mostly to 2008, and said she had no intention of resigning – although on Tuesday she issued a broad apology for "stupid social media comments".

The comments, made under the username "riikka" on the blog of Purra's predecessor as Finns party leader, Jussi Halla-aho, included uses of the Finnish equivalent of the N-word, other racial and anti-immigrant slurs, and threats of violence.

Last month, another Finns party minister, Vilhelm Junnila, resigned after revelations that he had made jokes about "Heil Hitler", given a speech at an event attended by neo-Nazis and called for mass abortions in Africa to combat the climate crisis.

A third, Mari Rantanen, the interior minister – who is in charge of Finland's intelligence services – has had to deny that she believed in the extremist great replacement theory after it emerged that she had hashtagged it in several tweets.

One 2008 "riikka" comment talked of "[N-words] selling pirated Vuittons" in Barcelona, which Purra, then a researcher at the University of Turku, was visiting at the time for an academic conference.

Another described "the sound darker males make when they pass you by" as "not whistling (that would be too obvious) but a fucking hiss between the teeth", adding: "The more eager Abdullah is, the more saliva comes with it."

In another post, the commenter wrote: "Anyone feel like spitting on beggars and beating [N-word] children today in Helsinki?"A post in January 2008 read: "I'm so full of hate and pure rage ... What are you doing to my psyche, Islam?"

In September 2008, "riikka" wrote about a confrontation on a suburban train with a group of young immigrants: "If they gave me a gun, there'd be bodies on a commuter train, you'll see."

Finnish media have matched Purra's movements and biographical details to the posts. The Finns leader has acknowledged commenting on the blog hosted by Halla-aho – who was convicted in 2012 of inciting hatred against an ethnic group – and other forums under different usernames, but has not confirmed she was "riikka".

After saying on Monday she condemned violence but had no regrets about "expressing myself in ways that today I would not accept", on Tuesday Purra tweeted: "I apologise for stupid social media comments made 15 years ago and for the harm and resentment they they understandably caused. I'm not a perfect person, I've made mistakes."

She said she hoped she would be judged on her performance in office, adding that her party's policies were "not based on extremism, racism or discrimination, but on pursuing the interests of Finland and Finns. Our immigration policy is legitimate and legal and there is nothing wrong or suspicious about it."

Opposition and some coalition politicians have been quick to condemn the posts, attributing them to Purra. The former interior minister Maria Ohisalo said Purra "has not only racist but also violent content on the same platform. No regrets, no resignation."

The prime minister, Petteri Orpo, of the rightwing National Coalition party (NCP), tweeted on Tuesday that Purra had found "the right solution" and that the month-old government "will not fall here".

Speaking at a Nato summit, President Sauli Niinistö said immigration and racism were separate issues. "The Finnish government would be wise to have a clear zero tolerance for racism," he said. "If the government is able to take this on board, it would be a good signal to the world."

Separately on Tuesday, a photo emerged of a senior MP from the opposition Social Democratic party with a group of naked youths, some making a Nazi salute. Antti Lindtman said he regretted the incident, adding that the photo was from high school, he had not personally made the gesture and he had never been a Nazi sympathiser.

[Solmyr]

Yeah, that one has been ongoing. And those are not the only hateful writings, there are more from more recent times. Our Foreign Minister has had to apologize to her Turkish counterpart for Purra calling them "Turkish apes". Great start for Finland's international reputation so far. The opposition is calling for a vote of confidence, but the Speaker Jussi Halla-aho is refusing to call the Parliament from its summer break. And PM Orpo is desperately trying to act like everything is fine, since he knows his government will fall if he provokes the Finns any more.

[crazy canuck]

You went from the world's coolest leader to this   

[Josquius]

Is it too late to change our mind on nato admission?