“The government must unequivocally distance itself from racism,” emphasizes Anna-Maja Henriksson, Swedish People’s Party chairperson and minister of education. National Coalition Party Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, declares, “As a government, we maintain a policy of zero tolerance for racism.” Upon hearing the above-mentioned statements, one should not be surprised why some are in a state…
Month: August 2023
Länsi-Savo: Racism is a serious social ill
An article in Mikkeli-based daily Länsi-Savo (10 August) interviewed three members of the Finns Party (PS) from the South Savo region who claimed that racism has no place in the party. If this is true, it is significant and welcome news. In the face of the numerous racism scandals that have overshadowed the activities of…
Finland’s and Europe’s blind spot of racism
After many years of writing about racism and discrimination in Migrant Tales, I am always disappointed by Finland’s and Europe’s blind spot of racism. A good example of the latter was a feature by Yle of far-right youths whose only contribution, in my opinion, in the story was their suspicion and loathing of migrants and…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland:* In the face of rising far-right nationalism, Yle publishes (again) a story about youths who hate foreigners
Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) published Saturday a story about two far-right youths belonging to the openly fascist and racist Blue-and-Black Movement (Sinimusta liike), and one to Suomen Sisu, which the authorities named in 2011 as “a Nazi-spirited association.” Thanks to the Yle article, the reader can read how much these so-called “radical nationalists” hate migrants….
Unequal social welfare for forigners: The wettest dream of the Perussuomalaiset and National Coalition Party
Plans to pay migrants less social welfare planned by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government are a wet dream that spans back to 2016, when then Social and Health Minister Hanna Mantylä aimed to pass legislation that would grant migrants less social welfare than native Finns. Fortunately, such a law did not see the light of day since…
Suomen hyvinvointivaltio ja demokratia ovat vaarassa
Perussuomalaiset on villi kortti, joka on valmis tuhoamaan Suomen hyvinvointivaltion ja demokratian. Hyökkäykset mediaa vastaan ovat tuttu strategia Donald Trumpin pelikirjasta. Liikenne- ja viestintäministeri Lulu Ranne (ps) sanoi Helsingin Sanomissa tänään ”jotain rajaa” uutisointiin perussuomalaisista. ”Minä olen sitä mieltä, että tämä on mennyt aivan överiksi,” hän varoitti. Kuvittele, että ministeri kertoo tiedotusvälineille, miten ne voivat tehdä työnsä. Mistä…
Shame on you if you are a Finnish politician and don’t know what racism is!
One clear aspect of Finland’s heated debate about racism is how politicians, especially from the Perussuoomalaiset (PS) party, claim ignorance about what racism is. PS MP Joakim Vigelius went as far as to claim that the term “racism” has suffered from inflation. I wonder if victims of racism and microaggression feel the same way. As…
The only way for the government to save face is for Riikka Purra to resign
The big question is what impact will the racism scandals that have rocked Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. For one, they reveal an era when politicians can say anything they want and face little to no accountability. Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Finance Minister Riikka Purra’s racist and violent comments of 2008 have put her in a difficult…
PM Petteri Opro: “There is nothing racist or discriminatory in the government program”
And that is not all that Orpo said in Helsingin Sanomat: “We are doing everything in our power to eradicate racism and discrimination,” he continued, “We are doing more [on this front] than any government before us.” In light of the scandals that have rocked Orpo’s government from the start, there appear to be an…
Finland’s challenge at seeing its dark side
It is a bit disingenuous that after ten years of the historic Perussuomaiset (PS)* victory in the 2011 election, when the party saw the number of MPs soared to 39 from five previously, some of us still appear startled about the racism of the radical right party and how they aim to destroy the credibility…