Finland’s new rightwing government has been plunged into fresh controversy after the discovery of racist and sometimes violent blogpost comments apparently written by the far-right Finns party leader and finance minister, Riikka Purra.
Purra, whose nationalist, anti-immigration party finished second in April’s elections and holds nine cabinet posts, has neither confirmed nor denied writing the posts, which date mostly to 2008, and said she had no intention of resigning – although on Tuesday she issued a broad apology for “stupid social media comments”.
The comments, made under the username “riikka” on the blog of Purra’s predecessor as Finns party leader, Jussi Halla-aho, included uses of the Finnish equivalent of the N-word, other racial and anti-immigrant slurs, and threats of violence.
Last month, another Finns party minister, Vilhelm Junnila, resigned after revelations that he had made jokes about “Heil Hitler”, given a speech at an event attended by neo-Nazis and called for mass abortions in Africa to combat the climate crisis.
A third, Mari Rantanen, the interior minister – who is in charge of Finland’s intelligence services – has had to deny that she believed in the extremist great replacement theory after it emerged that she had hashtagged it in several tweets.
One 2008 “riikka” comment talked of “[N-words] selling pirated Vuittons” in Barcelona, which Purra, then a researcher at the University of Turku, was visiting at the time for an academic conference.
Another described “the sound darker males make when they pass you by” as “not whistling (that would be too obvious) but a fucking hiss between the teeth”, adding: “The more eager Abdullah is, the more saliva comes with it.”
In another post, the commenter wrote: “Anyone feel like spitting on beggars and beating [N-word] children today in Helsinki?”A post in January 2008 read: “I’m so full of hate and pure rage … What are you doing to my psyche, Islam?”
In September 2008, “riikka” wrote about a confrontation on a suburban train with a group of young immigrants: “If they gave me a gun, there’d be bodies on a commuter train, you’ll see.”
Finnish media have matched Purra’s movements and biographical details to the posts. The Finns leader has acknowledged commenting on the blog hosted by Halla-aho – who was convicted in 2012 of inciting hatred against an ethnic group – and other forums under different usernames, but has not confirmed she was “riikka”.
After saying on Monday she condemned violence but had no regrets about “expressing myself in ways that today I would not accept”, on Tuesday Purra tweeted: “I apologise for stupid social media comments made 15 years ago and for the harm and resentment they they understandably caused. I’m not a perfect person, I’ve made mistakes.”
She said she hoped she would be judged on her performance in office, adding that her party’s policies were “not based on extremism, racism or discrimination, but on pursuing the interests of Finland and Finns. Our immigration policy is legitimate and legal and there is nothing wrong or suspicious about it.”
Opposition and some coalition politicians have been quick to condemn the posts, attributing them to Purra. The former interior minister Maria Ohisalo said Purra “has not only racist but also violent content on the same platform. No regrets, no resignation.”
The prime minister, Petteri Orpo, of the rightwing National Coalition party (NCP), tweeted on Tuesday that Purra had found “the right solution” and that the month-old government “will not fall here”.
Speaking at a Nato summit, President Sauli Niinistö said immigration and racism were separate issues. “The Finnish government would be wise to have a clear zero tolerance for racism,” he said. “If the government is able to take this on board, it would be a good signal to the world.”
Separately on Tuesday, a photo emerged of a senior MP from the opposition Social Democratic party with a group of naked youths, some making a Nazi salute. Antti Lindtman said he regretted the incident, adding that the photo was from high school, he had not personally made the gesture and he had never been a Nazi sympathiser.
