The extreme right takes over the government and at a certain point the problem arises that in any case it remains the extreme right. And so it happens that in Finlandwhere the conservatives of the National Coalition Party have entered into an agreement with the Party of Finns, the economy minister has already resigned, ten days after the government was sworn in. Not just any minister, by the way, but the head of the Economy, Vilhelm Junnila, 41 years old. Two days ago he had been disheartened by Parliament – therefore also with part of the votes of the majority – with a vote requested by the opposition parties (Verdi, Left e Social Democrats), finished 95 a 86. “It was the right solution and it was the only possible one” says the premier Petteri Orpoprotagonist of the electoral success that defeated the former social democratic prime minister Sanna Marin. During the electoral campaign, Orpo had promised, among other things, one tougher migration policy thus securing support for his austerity plan from six billion euros. The prime minister specified that his government program repudiates racism and undertakes to protect the rule of law and human rights.
Necessary clarifications because it was his people who brought down Junnila pro-Nazi comments of a not too distant past. Indeed, the now ex-minister was challenged for coming out to a speech at a far-right memorial in the western city of Turkuin 2019, when he made a reference to Adolf Hitler“joking” about his candidacy number in the 2019 parliamentary elections, 88 according to the random assignment, saying that it represented two Hs, i.e. what the Nazis value as initials of greeting hail Hitler. Junnila apologized and distanced himself from his remarks and jokes, stating in a Facebook post that he had never had any ties or affiliations with extremist elements.
Riikka Purra, the president of the Finnish Party (which until recently was called “True Finns”), described the minister’s decision as “extremely difficult both for her and for everyone else”. Purra thanked Junnila for putting Finland’s interest before anything else but then gave the executive a sort of ultimatum invoking unity: “Either we work together or we don’t work at all”.
Junnila’s political career is studded with affirmations, comments e sympathy towards ultra-right groups and formations. In 2019 he expressed his political beliefs during a protest organized by the far-right group Coalition of Nationalistsknown for his ties to the anti-immigrant group Soldiers of Odin. Years earlier, in 2015, during another election campaign, his slogan “Gaz!” had sparked a hornet’s nest of controversy after it was interpreted as a reference to Second World War and at rooms a gas. Last week Junnila had tried to run for cover by stating that she “strongly and absolutely condemns the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and all the anti-Semitic acts“. But in the past few hours, other details have emerged that nailed it. The Christian Democrat deputy Paivi Rasanen for example he recalled another episode from 2019, when Junnila had suggested, during a session of the Question time to the parliament, the promotion ofabortion in Africa to protect the planet from climate change.
According to YleFinland’s public broadcaster, Junilla now holds the title of cabinet member with the shortest career in Finnish politics, beating out Karl Lennart Oeschwho was minister for 12 days in 1932.