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?”
Three Christian Democrat candidates “disagreed” while Sari Essayah, the leader of the party, had no opinion. What does Essayah mean by not having an opinion?
Essayah’s father is Moroccan, which classifies her in Finland as a “person of Finnish origin.” It is surprising that a country like Finland, so obsessed with ethnic labels and reminding us about “us” and “them,” never mentions Essayah’s ethnic background.
The PS also did miserably in the election compass. The majority of the MEP candidates wouldn’t care less if people drowned in the Mediterranean.
National Coalition Party’s Henna Virkkunen, EU executive vice president for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy, “disagreed” in the election compass that the EU should save people from drowning in the Mediterranean.
Behind Finland’s and Denmark’s opposition to recognizing Palestine is deep-rooted anti-Muslim prejudice and racism.
