Far-right Finnish minister quits days after taking office amid flurry of controversies

A far-right Finnish minister has resigned just days after taking office amid a number of controversies over his past and recent comments.

Vilhelm Junnila, Finland’s Minister for Economic Affairs from the far-right Finns Party, resigned on 28th June, just over a week since taking office, even after apologising over one scandal and surviving a no-confidence vote, two days before quitting, by a margin of 95 to 86.

The trigger for his resignation, apparently, was comments that he made in Parliament in 2019 when he was a freshman MP, in which he said, in reference to Africa, that “It would be justified for Finland to shoulder its responsibility by promoting climate abortions. Climate abortion would be a small step for a person, but a giant leap for humanity.”

He was also revealed by the country’s public broadcaster, Yle, to have never taken any political science classes at university, contradicting his claims about his education, and the channel also found no proof that he had launched and subsequently sold a technology company in Poland.

However, the politician has also been engulfed in controversies relating to antisemitism. He apologised after reportedly joking  about being assigned the number 88 by the Finnish Election Commission as his candidate number in the 2019 Parliamentary election. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is used by neo-Nazis as a code for “Heil Hitler”. Mr Junnila posted on Facebook: “Over the years, I have joked in a way that, looking back, seems foolish and immature. I have acted incorrectly, and I apologise for my actions.”

He also apologised for making a speech at a 2019 rally called “Flower 188”, arranged by the Coalition of Nationalists, a far-right organisation whose members included the militant Nordic Resistance Movement. “I would no longer participate in such an event if it was organised,” he wrote, expressing his aversion to the now-banned Nordic Resistance Movement, which he described as “aggressive and deliberately seeking conflict.”

Further controversies also came to light, however, including a social media message from Mr Junnila to his parliamentary assistant which included a picture of a snowman, taken from the internet, which resembled a Ku Klux Klan member holding a noose. It was accompanied by the caption: “I made a snowman according to your instructions.”

A 2013 birthday video message featuring Adolf Hitler was also uncovered, as was a 2014 picture of a gate with a swastika with a message from Mr Junnila saying how much he liked the design.

His election campaign reportedly featured the phrase “get gassed”, a slogan also previously used by the German AfD Party.

Mr Junnila said that he was resigning to spare Finland’s reputation, “despite the trust of the party and my parliamentary group.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.