In a recent tweet, Finnish Finance Minister Riikka Purra expressed remorse for “stupid comments” she had made 15 years ago, acknowledging the harm and conceptual disturbance they caused.
She humbly stated, “I am not a perfect person.”
Purra, the leader of the right-wing extremist “Vinz” party, a coalition partner in the government, faced accusations of writing inflammatory comments in 2008 that were anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, and laced with racial slurs and threats of violence.
In her tweet, she further apologized, “I am sorry for the idiotic comments I wrote 15 years ago and the harm and disturbance they caused. I am not a perfect person.”
This controversy arises merely two weeks after another Vinz party minister, Vilhelm Junnila, resigned due to his pro-Nazi statements.
While Purra did not immediately confirm or deny the allegations against her, she mentioned in her blog on Monday, “I have never contemplated starting by condemning or apologizing for what I did and said years and decades ago.”
Later, on Twitter, she added, “I felt frustration and severe despair about certain aspects of immigration in Finland,” and went on to say, “At such times, you can speak or write with anger and foolishness.”
The old racist comments attributed to Purra were published under the pseudonym “riika” on a blog associated with Juha-Aho, the former leader of the Vinz party, who has faced accusations of inciting racial hatred due to his writings.
On Monday, social media users also noticed similarities between the personal life of the blog writer “riika” and Rikka purra, including synchronized visits to Barcelona, similar educational backgrounds, and the declaration of being a vegetarian.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö stated on Tuesday that it would be “wise for the Finnish government to take a clear stance of zero tolerance towards racism.”
