Category: Enrique Tessieri

Racist or xenophobic comments of the week in Finland (week ending 31.8.2025)

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After the outburst by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Vice President Teemu Keskisarja’s racist statements at the A-studio talk show, the strategy of the far-right party has been exposed for everyone to see.

One of the persons working in the shadows and orchestrating the xenophobic outpouring is none other than Matias Turkkila, who was named Finance Minister and party Chairperson Riikka Purra’s special advisor on 6.8.

A while back, and in the face of poor poll numbers, Purra said that the PS needs to get its message together. Well, here you have it: Great Replacement Theory, victimizing migrants, especially Muslims.

After Keskisara’s tirades, newspapers like the Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-sanomat, and Iltalehti did some fact-checking. Are you surprised that they found that most of what he said was unsubstantiated, an outright lie?

PS ministers like Purra are obsessed with the Great Replacement Theory, stating and misleading the pubic into believing that Muslims will take over Finland. Even if Islam is the second-largest religion in Finland, with 140,000 adherents, it accounts for only 2.5% of the total population.

The claim that Finland’s ethnic makeup is changing is true but it is a natural outcome of migration. Racists believe that people do not change but they do and that is why it is important for Finland to be inclusive instead of exclusive to new Finns.

Said Keskisarja: “The feast will not improve by changing [replacing the ethnicity of] people,” he was quoted as saying in A-studio. “Rather, the opposite is true. Those who enable this replacement will turn [Finland] into a developing country of pig stys and bloodbaths. These are the reasons why the great replacement angers me and the Finns Party.”

Purra appeared Saturday on Yle‘s Ykkösaamu, where she defended Keskisarja’s rants. She said that the police charges for ethnic incitement would not go through, and his comments did not run against the government’s anti-racism program.

“This is not racism,” she said. “We must be able to talk about such matters in Finland without being constantly outraged.”

Even if reporters may express surprise at racist statements by politicians, they come poorly prepared to confront a politician like Keskisarja. The A-studio program aired on 30 April, but it took Ilta-Sanomat (28.8), Ilalehti (29.8), and Helsingin Sanomat (30.8) a few days to fact-check Keskisarja. This is unfortunate since politicians make outrageous statements, and fact-checking is too late since the “news” is already out there having reached the party’s followers. 

Some other racist quotes for the week ending 31.8.2025:

Writes MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen on Facebook: Now it is clear to everyone how much bigger Finland’s problems would be if the Finns Party were not in government.
If we were not present in Finnish politics at all, the situation would be completely hopeless.
It never ceases to amaze me that the other parties are more concerned with their own image than with solving problems.
It is up to the Finns Party to halt the decline of the Finnish economy and the demographic shift.

On Sunday, Perussuomalaiset MP Mauri Peltokangas called people immigrating to Finland from third countries as “vermin.” He then regretted what he posted on X. “I apologize for my inappropriate language. I deleted the message, he wrote, according to Iltalehti.

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A-studio exposes the media’s and Finland’s racism problem

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The great replacement [Islamization] spells the end of the welfare society, the end of Finnish society.

Riikka Purra, finance minister and chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party

Wednesday’s A-studio with PS Vice President Teemu Keskisarja, Pia Kauma of the National Coalition Party, and Sofia Virta of the Green League was an eye-opener, a stark reminder of the racist undercurrents flowing beneath Finnish society and how the media perpetuates the social ill.

Even if Keskisarja has received a dubious reputation for his vocal fear-mongering of Muslims, his hateful ideology is rooted deeply in PS and Finnish ideology.

“The feast will not improve by changing [replacing the ethnicity of] people,” he was quoted as saying in A-studio. “Rather, the opposite is true. Those who enable this replacement will turn [Finland] into a developing country of pig stys and bloodbaths. These are the reasons why the great replacement angers me and the Finns Party.”

And the icing on the cake, he said that migrants have already destoyerd the Finnish welfare state but have partly created a catastrophe.

PS Vice President Teemu Keskisarja.

While some blame the PS’s poor showing in recent elections and opinion polls, the truth is that what Keskisarja said is not only harmful to migrants trying to find work and a place in society, but the toothless pushback from Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, which is set to take the country down a runious path to weaken labor laws and social security benefits.

Continue reading “A-studio exposes the media’s and Finland’s racism problem”

Anti-Muslim racism is the PS’ call to action

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Over and over again, the media overlooks the obvious about the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*: it’s anti-Muslim racism. Everything that the party does, its raison d’être, or reason for being, is anti-Muslim hatred. Certainly, not only are Muslims included in their attacks, but other minorities like blacks and people of color in general are.

Time and again, the media overlooks or sanitizes the party’s racism by overlooking the source of their hatred, which is xenophobia and Islamophobia.

The latest example was Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s suggestion to bring some Palestinian children in Gaza to be treated at Finnish hospitals. The suggestion received a swift no from the PS.

“I wasn’t asked about it. And if I had been, I would have said I was against it [bringing Palestinian children],” Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

All of the elected 46 MPs (out of a total of 216) of the PS based their campaign on anti-Muslim and xenophobic themes. PS ministers like Finance Minister Riikka Purra, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, former Economic Affairs Minister Wille Rydman, Justice Minister Leena Meri, Tavio, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho, have all spread the great replacement theory with little to no consequences.  

If their Islamophobia is a factor, and it is, why do most of the media and politicians turn a blind eye to such an offensive ideology?

If few will say it out loud, we at Migrant Tales will: The PS hates Muslims, and it shows.

Politicians like Interior Minister Mari Rantanen talk tough, but in reality, they are weak

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I’m always amused and saddened at the same time when political bullies like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Interior Minister Mari Rantanen talk tough against migrants and other vulnerable minorities. The only way to challenge bullies is by giving them a taste of their own medicine

A tough (but in reality a weak) Rantanen slaps us with an ultimatum:

Studying the possibility of prohibiting Muslim women from wearing veils. Live like the locals or leave.

In my opinion, this is chickenshit populism that we should not underestimate. In the United States, we are seeing how the Trump Administration is targeting brown and black people.

Who is to say that something similar would not happen in Finland if the PS had the chance?

It’s no secret that the PS is a party that quietly supports Trump and his authoritarian tactics.

Even the party’s chairperson and finance minister, Riikka Purra, had warm words of support for US Vice J.D. Vance speech last year at the Munich Security Conference, which many see as a turning point in EU-US relations. Vance downplayed the threat of Russia, claiming that Europe’s greatest security threat was unregulated migration and the exclusion of far-right political groups. Purra praised Vance’s words as a great speech. “Freedom, freedom of speech, democracy; threats from within, inability to fight illegal immigration,” she posted on X.

Antisemitism versus racism

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Here is a very simple question: if President Donald Trump had treated racism in the same way he treated antisemitism, would the United States have made real progress in eradicating this social ill—or at least delivered a serious blow against it?

This contrast is striking. While Trump signed executive orders pledging to combat antisemitism on college campuses, his administration presides over arbitrary ICE crackdowns on visible minorities and emboldened white supremacists. These contradictions raise serious questions about the sincerity and scope of his efforts.

One reason Trump’s stance on antisemitism rings hollow is that he himself has been repeatedly accused of antisemitic rhetoric. These accusations are not typically about open expressions of hatred, but about his recurring use of stereotypes: framing Jews as “disloyal,” obsessed with money, or more devoted to Israel than America.

In May 2025, Trump used the word “Shylock” in a speech—a slur rooted in Shakespeare’s caricature of a Jewish moneylender. Although he later claimed ignorance of its antisemitic meaning, groups such as the Anti-Defamation League warned that such language reinforces centuries-old prejudices.

Trump has also frequently suggested that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are “disloyal” or “ungrateful,” invoking the age-old dual-loyalty trope that questions Jews’ commitment to their country. In October 2024, he went even further, declaring that “Christians love Israel more than Jews,” a remark widely criticized by Jewish leaders as divisive and condescending.

But let’s be honest: Trump’s antisemitism is disingenuous and a travesty. If he’d invest so much time in cracking down on all kinds of racism, the US would take the first step towards becoming a more racially just country.

Trump and antisemitism pledges are nothing more than the warravaged landscape of Gaza.

The Perussuommalaiset are a horror show, aren’t they? What about the National Coalition Party?

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We all know about the vicious racist attacks by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Their partner in government, the National Coalition Party, has been flirting with populist-style racism as well—yesterday, Social Security Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, whose responsibilities include gender equality.

On Tuesday, she told Helsingin Sanomat that she would be in favor of Finland joining the likes of France in prohibiting the niqab and burka. She added that these types of attire should be prohibited at school.

As Finland’s government parties continue to see their ratings go down in opinion polls, they are pulling these types of stunts to claw back voters. 

The saddest matter is the harm that a minister like Grahn-Laasonen does to children who are Muslims and may use the niqab or veil. I wonder how many children Grahn-Laasonen has seen in Finland wearing a niqab or burka? This is an example of cheap populism.

Or should the issue play out in her world, where Muslim children will run up to her and thank her for liberating them?

The truth is that Grahn-Laasonen would care less for such children because she doesn’t believe in religious freedom.

Nice try Matias Turkkila and Riikka Purra but no cigar

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THE STORY WAS UPDATED

Perussuommslaiset (PS)* Finance Minister Riikka Purra’s announcement of 900-billion-euro cuts in next year’s budget is seen by some a political stunt with a strong anti-immigration PS stamp. On the same day as Purrra’s announcment, Matias Turkkila, the editor of the party’s newspaper and the main strategist of the PS’ xenophobic message, became Purra’s special advisor.

A coincidence? Not.

One Yle story described Turkkila as “a master of political provocation.”

And that is what he is. Turkkila is the perfect advisor to Purra because what he does well is to provoke and polarize.

It remains to be seen if Turkkila and breathing sronger life into the PS’ anti-immmigraion message will save it from itself.

Even so, I don’t believe Turkkila is very talented in his racist provocations. He knows, however, to exploit the racist undercurrent that flows in Finland.

Turkkila’s, Purra’s, and the PS’ victimization of minorities like Muslims is not only racist but affects, for example, innocent children at school. The most shameful matter is that the media and many politicians cannot muster up enough courage to denounce such racism, which explains why Turkkila is still kept in some regard by the mainstream media.

Continue reading “Nice try Matias Turkkila and Riikka Purra but no cigar”

Why does the media near-constantly link Finland with Denmark on Palestinia’s recognition?

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Source: Reilumedia.fi

The announcement by President Alexander Stubb that he is prepared to recognize the state of Palestine if the government of Prime Minister Petteri Stubb formally proposes it. Of the Nordic countries, Finland and Denmark are the only ones that have not recognized Palestine.

Iceland was the first country to recognize Palestine, followed by Sweden, the first EU country, and Norway in 2023.

The decision to recognize Palestine follows announcements by France, Canada, and the United Kingdom that they plan to do so during the UN General Assembly in September.

While we hope that Finland will follow suit, the matter is complicated since two government parties, the Christian Democrats and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, have expressed their opposition to such a move.

While the Finnish media has been following the rift and why Denmark refuses to recognize Palestine, there is little to no analysis on why and what the circumstances may be. Context is left out in stories, which leaves the door open for bias.

Both government parties, the Christian Democrats and PS, have a long anti-Muslim track record, which sheds light on why they are against Finland recognizing Palestine. Denmark, too, has a terrible record of being one of the most Islamophobic countries in the EU, which explains why we are with it in this shameful group.

There are many examples of how the Christian Democrats loathe refugees. In a 2019 EU election compass, question 13 asked: “Is it the obligation of the EU to save all those migrants who attempt to come to Europe and who are at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean?”

Continue reading “Why does the media near-constantly link Finland with Denmark on Palestinia’s recognition?”

Labeling an ethnic group is entering racist territory

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Days later, representatives of the Somali community come out and state that the tragic deaths of Somali boys should not be politicized. What on earth does the Finnish media, like Yle, wants to frame and message when they state that those who died of drowning were of Somali backgrounds?

It took several days for Yle to publish the Somali community’s concern about the harmful labeling.

Abdirazak Sugulle Mohamed, a representative of the Uusimaa Mosque Association, hopes that decision-makers will take a responsible approach to the issue. He believes that swimming skills should also be discussed in general in Finland, not just for Somalis or so-called people of foreign background.

“We shouldn’t just talk about the swimming skills of immigrants or Somalis,” he said. 

But one could take this matter a big further and ask what the purpose of singling out people of color is? Is it to reinforce our racism and show falsely that white Finns are superior swimmers? Probably the most striking matter it reveals is the mainstream media’s racism problem.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Moreover, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s biggest daily, has not published a word about how the media labels minorities. They did, however, publish an article about how Muslim women go to swimming school. It was like a cultural peep show. 

Helsingin Sanomat does it again. Muslims are suspect, let’s debate their culture on our terms.

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An opinion piece by Milla Palkoaho of Helsingin Sanomat on debating what is culturally acceptable at comprehensive schools. Perussuaomalaiset (PS)* chairperson and finance minister, Riikka Purra, wants to prohibit the veil, niqab, and burka at schools. The writer agrees and states that Purra, who has a long history of making racist comments, has a point.

Does she? If you want to portray yourself as the pro-PS good Samaritan, then she does.

To give more agency to her shoddy opinion piece, Palkoaho asks teachers if they should prohibit, like Purra wants, Muslim attire like the veil, niqab, and burka, which is extremely rare in Finland. So much so that the reporter did not find one example of a pupil wearing the burka.

The opinion piece reveals again the media’s racism problem. With total disregard for cultural diversity and the rights of minorities, it bullies its way with a disingenuous argument: We must debate the matter (even if we, white privilege, will set the tone of the debate).

Read the full opinion piece (in Finnish) here.

The writer forgets to mention some important factors in the story. She hides these facts intentionally in order to give more umph to her point.

  1. Comprehensive school teachers in Finland are as, after the police, the most conservative group.
  2. In a Gallup in 2026, 50% of the police interviewed said they would vote for the PS or National Coalition Party.
  3. The nose-dive in support for the PS has forced it to reach out for its political lifebelt: racism.

The truth is that these types of opinion pieces do more harm to the so-called debate the reporter is seeking than good. I would bet my money that she, like the PS, would care less for the wellbeing of Muslims in Finland.

Palkoaho is, however, adamant in her opinion piece: “It is equally relevant to discuss how well a veil that makes it impossible to recognize a person (sic!) or distinguish their facial expressions fits into Finnish culture.”

“Fits” into Finnish culture?!

Here, Palkoaho wants Muslims to whitewash their culture and throw away their constitutional right to religious freedom. I have said it many times: I am Finnish on my terms, and if you can’t take it, that is your problem.

A shameful opinion piece that reminds us that Helsingin Sanomat should know better.