Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the racist remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister Riikka Purra were unacceptable but insisted her apology has closed the matter.
Finland’s opposition doesn’t buy that, however, and is calling for a confidence vote.
“Every MP should have their say on this, and that is best done in a vote of confidence,” said Harry Harkimo, chaiman of the liberal Movement Now party. Similar demands were made by Krista Kiuru, a former minister from the Social Democratic party.
Purra — who is also finance minister — from the far-right Finns Party, came under fire earlier this week for making racist and violent remarks about Black people and demeaning comments about poor people in writings that appeared under a pseudonym on the internet 15 years ago.
The scandal — the third to hit the Finnish government in a matter of weeks, all involving the Finns Party — rocked Helsinki’s new right-wing coalition.
In a joint press conference held with Purra Orpo said on Wednesday, “I want to make sure that we give a clear message to everyone, that there is zero tolerance for racism. We will not accept any discrimination against people of any kind.” But Orpo added his trust in Purra remained, according to local media reports.
When asked whether the government was in danger of collapsing, Orpo said that he did not have to think about that because Purra had said sorry.
