You cannot make this up. National Coalition Party Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government plans to offer an hour-long anti-racism training for the government. The training has been postponed to after the municipal and regional elections of April. “It will be an intensive training of about an hour, including discussion,” Katriina Nousiainen, project manager and senior…
Tag: Perussuomalaiset
Evidence shows why the Perussuomalaiset party is “openly Islamophobic”
I’m always surprised by the aha moment of the mainstream media when it comes to the hostile and polarizing message of the Perussuomalaiset (PS).* After PS Interior Minister Mari Rantanen was caught with her hand in the cookie jar by attempting to favor Christians over Muslims in the quota-refugee scheme, Finland’s biggest daily reported that…
The Perussuomalaiset are “openly Islamophobic,” according to the non-discrimination ombudsman
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is known for its hostility and attacks against migrants and minorities as well as anyone who dares call them what they are: a party that peddles racism. In a statement Thursday, the non-discrimination ombudsman, said that the actions of PS Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen were discriminatory when the ministry attempted…
Europe is toothless and lost
When EU Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty Henna Virkunen (National Coalition Party) and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Perussuomalaiset, PS*) meet to boost confidence in Nato’s ability to protect its subsea cables, but the total opposite. Their political record and their extremist stance on asylum seekers reveals why Europe is toothless and lost in the face of…
Sanitzing racism in Finland with the help of labelling
With the Örbero mass shooting, the worst in Sweden overtaken now by time and denial, a question remains: Who speaks up for migrants or New Swedes? The sad truth is few if any. What is even sader the silence has grown and is defeaning. In a brilliant column, Mehdi Hasan writes about how DEI, which…
Linkedin: Down the populist path
A good question is why the public’s fascination with far-right populism has caught on. US President Donald Trump is one sour example but so is the changing political landscape of Europe. In Finland, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (NCP) believes it can continue to do business with the anti-immigration Finns Party (PS) and form…
Surprise, surprise, immigration to Finland in 2024 plummeted by 13.9%
Migration to Finland in 2024 took a 13.9% dive to 63,049 from 73.236 in the previous year, according to Statistics Finland. Some of the biggest drops were in the number of Ukrainians seeking international protection. Their numbers plummeted by 53.02% 13,551 persons. The number of work permits for specialists retreated to 1,224 permits from 1,604…
Helsinki Noir: A play reflecting troubled times will show today (25.1) at Botta, Museokatu 10, Helsinki
Come an watch today at 7 pm a wonderful play reflecting these troubled times at Botta, Museokatu 10, Helsinki. Below is a review that Migrant Tales wrote about Helsinki Noir at the end of December. “Writer and director Ahti Tolvanen, who is a member of the Migrant Tales board, has written a play that reflects hard and…
The ever-greying of Finland and our new citizenship
Twenty-eight years ago I wrote in a Finland Bridge column about the greying of Finland. Even if Finland has the third-oldest population in the world after Japan and Italy. Has anything changed since 1997 and what are the solutions to our demographic woes? Some far-fetched solutions I suggested back then was to raise the retirement…
Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!
When Finns talk about expats, they usually mean those that are Finnish citizens and, most importantly, speak the Finnish or Swedish language. Apart from speaking on of Finland’s two official languages, your ethnic background plays a role as well. When you generalize, you risk walking on thin ice. I’ll take that risk, however, to make…