Monday’s A-studio talk about racism confirmed that Prime Minister Petteri Ospo’s plan to tackle racism and discrimination will most likely end up dead on arrival. One of the guests on the talk show, National Coalition Party (NCP) third vice president, Mari-Leena Talvitie, could not name one concrete action that the government would take to address the…
Tag: Petteri Orpo
Petteri Orpo’s government of Finland loathes migrants: Is it an overestimation or underestimation?
By now, after numerous scandals, Prime Minister Petteri Opro may be thinking that getting into bed with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* was a huge mistake that will have far-reaching consequences for the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and even end up costing him his job. If Orpo and PS Finance Minister Riikka Purra had a crystal ball…
Spain’s snap election result is bad news for Finland’s conservative-radical right government
Instead of only congratulating the National Coalition Party’s (NCP) sister party, Partido Popular, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo should pay close attention to the election result in Spain. True, the conservative Partido Popular, won the election, but the result was disappointing and insufficient to give it a majority. Social Democratic (PSOE) Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’ snap…
All you have to do is look at Orpo’s government to understand Finland’s shameful racism problem now threatening our democracy
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is a weak leader and part of Finland’s racism problem. National Coalition Party (NCP) Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, which has been christened as the Chamber of Horrors by Munich-based daily, Süddeutsche Zeitun, is a disappointing example of how you should not confront racism in this country. Many are rightfully worried about…
Finland’s Prime Minister Orpo’s Pyrrhic victory
The only matter that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s embattled government will gain if it does not go under after its chaotic start on 20 June, is a Pyrrhic victory. In today’s press conference with journalists, Orpo defended Finance Minister Riikka Purra’s apology for her violent and racist comments made in 2008 when she was a…
Finland’s “Chamber of Horrors” government offers a scandal every week
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Coverage by the international media hasn’t been rosy for Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. Munich-based daily, Süddeutsche Zeitun, christened it the Chamber of Horrors while Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called the government’s start “a fiasco.” Of the seven Perussuomalaiset (PS)* ministers, including the speaker of the parliament, Jussi Halla-aho, five have shady…
Weak leadership and denial of your coalition partner’s far-right and racist history are a recipe for disaster
Thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Petteri Orban, Finland’s international image has suffered a devastating blow. In a matter of over two weeks, the country’s reputation has swung from having a forward-looking and charismatic prime minister like Sanna Marin to one that denies and wants to do business with a radical-right party. The government…
Vilhelm Junnila’s resignation reveals how the radical-right PS continues to be a liability to Orpo’s government
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Minister of Economic Affairs VIlhelm Junnila was in office for just 11 days, making him one of the shortest-serving ministers in Finnish history. Junnila’s downfall is attributable to himself and his long trail of neo-Nazi sympathies and “jokes.” The fact that the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) went to bed…
Petteri Orpo’s big gamble and Finland’s shift to the radical right
What a show we saw in parliament Wednesday when radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Minister of Economic Affairs Vilhelm Junnila survived a no-confidence vote! The first visible cracks in National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government became evident. One of the questions that some may be asking is why does Kokoomus want to do business…
The problematic far right, racism, misogyny, homophobia and rape delusions of the new Finnish government
The government fuels two matters: loss of credibility and polarization of society. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, considered the most right wing since the 1930s, faced a storm of controversy on its first day not because of its austerity program, which will hit the most vulnerable sectors of society, but because of its embarrassing links…