Finnish government party The Swedish People’s Party held a meeting lasting several hours on Friday evening where they discussed government cooperation, following the racism scandal in the newly appointed Finnish government.
Now the Speaker of the Riksdag, Jussi Halla-aho, has decided that he will not interrupt the Riksdag’s summer break despite the opposition’s demand that the Riksdag be opened in the middle of the summer break for a vote of confidence on the Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (True Finns). This after several 15-year-old racist blog posts from the finance minister were given new life in the public debate.
In 2019, she also wrote a blog post where she described women wearing burkas as unrecognizable “black sacks”, reports EPN. Riikka Purra has said that she will not apologize for the statement, as she believes that it is about women’s “subordinate position”. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (Collection Parity) has said that he does not accept the description and that he has spoken about it with Riikka Purra.
The reason for the decision not to convene the Riksdag must be that the majority of the Riksdag does not demand that the summer break be interrupted. In order for the requirement to be met, it is necessary for a government party to also demand that the Riksdag be convened.
SFP wants to distance itself from racism
The Swedish People’s Party also wants to see that the government’s ministers and parties clearly distance themselves from racism, the party writes in the press release after Friday’s meeting. They are also concerned about the functionality of the government. Therefore, they want to give Prime Minister Petteri Orpo time to evaluate the situation and have talks with the chairmen of the governing parties.
During Friday, the prime minister held a press conference where he announced that the government is starting a working group against discrimination.