In order to expose the lies of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, just look at the flagrant denials and outrageous claims. There are two that fit the far-right playbook to a tee: (1) We can shut the Finnish-Russian border and deny people the right to asylum; and (2) Vladimir Putin can get political asylum in Finland.
Both are false claims intended for public consumption.
When it comes to migrants, the far-right playbook works in the following manner:
Make an outrageous claim like we can shut the whole eastern border and deny asylum.
Even if the media will disprove your claim later, it does not matter because the news is already out there.
Your followers have received the fictitious claim.
The government is now offering two lies for the price of one. First lie: We can shut the whole Finnish-Russian border and tell asylum seekers to go fly a kite. Second lie: Vladimir Putin can get refuge in Finland by simply mentioning the magic word, “asylum,” at the border.
The first lie, that the government can shut the border to asylum seekers, is a campaign promise made by the National Coalition Party and PS, whose leader Riikka Purra falsely misled voters to believe that her party’s get-ough stance on migrants meant denying their rights to asylum.
The government has adopted far-right rhetoric. In this ad, the government claims that its measures at the border are to “stop illegal migration.” The claim is as absurd as labeling people as “illegal refugees.” Is there such a thing? The spread of misinformation is as full wing.
The government has got itself in a bind tangled by its bravado, and xenophobia that have led it to the mercy of its populist promises and Vladimir Putin.
President Sauli Niinistoö also bears much of the blame for the present situation. He assured us that NATO would give us security.
Has it? Will it?
Like the government, Niinistö is driven by his disdain for asylum seekers from the Middle East and extreme suspicion of Russians.
Considering how the PS has used the “migrant-problem” narrative to win elections, it’s clear that Interioioir Minister Mari Rantanen’s claim, that Putin can seek asylum in Finland, is a calculated lie.
In the weeks ahead, the situation at the Finnish-Russian border will not get better and stop asylum seekers from coming to the border. It will only get worse.
Is the government going to adopt the same methods that Poland and Hungary did to stop people at the border?
