With parliamentary elections nearing in April 2015, politicians will do almost anything to get attention. We heard Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini state this week that his party’s ass isn’t for sale. National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP and Espoo city councilwoman, Pia Kauma, now joins this questionable group by asking why the municipality should help migrants buy new baby carriages.
Espoo is located next to Helsinki and may face a 60-million-euro deficit in its budget. Kauma apparently believes that forcing migrant women, or women in general, to buy used baby carriages will help city plug its deficit.
Anyone with a little bit of insight, however, can tell that Kauma isn’t attacking migrant women with her statement, but all young mothers who may need social assistance.
Read Sakari Timonen‘s blog for more insight on the issue.
Read full story (in Finnish) here.
Another problem with what Kauma said is that she’s generalizing. There’s a danger that her victimization of migrant women may lead to violence against them. Racists will certainly get ammunition from the MP’s comment to harass “foreign-looking” women strolling the streets of Espoo with new baby carriages.
What else is wrong with what Kauma said?
It’s evident by her comment that she thinks very lowly of migrants, especially migrant women, and women in general who don’t make enough money to buy new baby carriages.
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.