Finland's far-right ministers forced to take anti-racism course

CopenhagenFinnish government ministers have received training to combat the racist attitudes and comments that have shaken the country. Since the government's formation three years ago, the government has been rocked by several episodes that have exposed the racist attitudes of ministers who are members of the Finns Party. The far-right populist party entered the executive branch with more influence than ever in 2023., occupying seven of the nineteen portfolios in the government, which is formed together with the National Coalition Party (conservatives) and two smaller parties.

The repeated scandals throughout the legislature, with racist comments on social media, the publication of xenophobic texts on online blogs, and the flirtation with neo-Nazi groups led by ministers from the far-right party, have come close to breaking the government agreement on more than one occasion. Faced with this behavior, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's response has been to summon the full Council of Ministers to an unprecedented group to address attitudes and learn to identify racism in Finland. This decision is part of an agreement signed by the four governing parties a year ago and is part of an initiative promoted by the executive branch to banish racism from Finland's public institutions.

From the outset, the initiative drew criticism from Finns Party ministers, who threatened to skip the training, despite the fact that it was a prerequisite for the Swedish People's Party (RKP) to continue its coalition. Ultimately, the anti-racism training took place despite the skepticism of hardline politicians, who, upon leaving the session, expressed their displeasure: "I don't know if I've actually learned anything, but someone must have thought this was useful," retorted Finns Party Interior Minister Mari Rantanen.

The attitude of the far-right politicians contrasts with that of Education Minister and RKP President Anders Adlercreutz, who asserted that "based on this discussion, there is no reason to doubt the government's commitment to combating racism."

Combating myths about racism

During the anti-racism training session, three deeply rooted and widely held myths surrounding racism in the country were challenged. The first was that Finland is an ethnically homogeneous country, a claim that experts say fails to take into account the country's Sami, Roma, and Swedish minorities, as well as the immigrant population (which accounts for 11% of the total). The next contentious topic was structural racism, and the session concluded with a challenge to the claim that racism does not exist in Finland—an argument often repeated by Finns Party ministers, despite the fact that it contradicts reports that Finland's Muslim population suffers significantly more racist harassment.

With this action plan against racism, Prime Minister Orpo aims to shake off criticism of his government for allowing extremist views and attitudes within the executive branch, despite opposition parties criticizing the fact that the anti-racism plan contradicts policies of cutting services to immigrants and restricting work visas.

Spiral of episodes of racism

In the summer of 2023, scandals over racist incidents among members of the government continued to erupt. The most notable cases were that of former Minister of Economic Affairs Vilhelm Junnila, who He was the first to find himself in the eye of the storm of criticism.The far-right politician had never hidden his ties to neo-Nazi groups, and as a member of parliament, he had participated in events for organizations that glorify Nazism. Junnila did not remain a minister for more than ten days after being appointed due to pressure from the other parties in the executive branch to oust him. His successor, Wille Rydman, was also found to have messages using racist language against "Somali monkeys," despite the fact that the minister has refused to apologize and remains in office.

But the figure who has undoubtedly been most at the center of controversy has been the spokesperson for the Finnish Party, Riikka PurraThe far-right leader holds the Finance Ministry, despite the posts she admitted to writing 15 years ago attacking Muslim women and saying they look like "garbage bags" wearing the burqa. Finally, Purra publicly apologized, despite claiming to feel like "the victim of a witch hunt."

On the other hand, the Finnish media have recently echoed reports warning of the seriousness of racism in Finnish society.