Researchers Johanna Vuorelma and Markku Jokisipilä estimate that the discussion about Riikka Purra’s (ps) racist writings is about racism more broadly.
The Treasury minister Riikka Purran (ps) the discussion about racist writings is not only related to Purra’s writings, but to basic Finnish ideology more broadly, according to the political researchers interviewed by HS.
“There is no Purra-kohu going on, but a broader discussion about what kind of party the Basic Finns are”, political researcher at the University of Helsinki Johanna Vuorelma evaluate.
According to Vuorelma, the political rhetoric of basic Finns has included racist language and discriminatory speech until the beginning of the government campaign. According to him, the ongoing discussion determines whether such language is considered acceptable in Finnish politics or not.
Ramble the director of the Center for Parliamentary Studies at the University of Turku is on the line Markku Jokisipilä.
According to him, it is about a broader discussion about what racism is. Now the perceptions of the governing parties seem to differ significantly from each other, not to mention the opposition parties, says Jokisipilä.
“For basic Finns, the line of racism seems to go somewhere along the lines of the criminal law, if even that. When a person has been convicted of incitement against a ethnic group, it is perfectly legitimate to call him a racist, but if there is no conviction, then finding a clear definition becomes complicated,” says Jokisipilä.
“In many people’s opinion, the line of racism comes much earlier than the criminal law.”
Finance Minister Riikka Purra apologized for his old writings at a press conference organized together with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (kok).
DISCUSSION According to Vuorelma and Jokisipilä, nature is also the reason why it has not ended despite Purra’s apology.
Purra has apologized for his 15-year-old racist writings, but he has refused to apologize for more recent texts, in which he, for example, speaks of Muslim women as “black sacks”.
Purra has also not opened up more about how his thinking has changed over the years.
“Many seem to be of the opinion that the thinking behind Purra’s comments has not changed in any way despite the apology. For those who think like this, no amount of apologies will be enough to convince them that the underlying world of thought is not racist,” says Jokisipilä.
“The end point of the discussion is not an apology, because it is a much deeper discussion about the core of the party’s ideology. When talking about constitutional principles such as non-discrimination and equality, the discussion does not end with regretting the texts, but only starts there,” Vuorelma, on the other hand, assessed.
About the same for this reason, the situation has been particularly difficult for the governing party Rkp.
Even after Purra’s apology, Rkp has published press releases in which it has demanded that government ministers unequivocally renounce racism and stated that Purra’s actions after the apology have raised questions.
“It must be unclear even to the Rkp itself how the required resignation from racism could be credibly carried out in a situation where the party [perussuomalaiset] has profiled himself with racist statements”, Vuorelma assesses.
“If the ideological thinking of basic Finns is at least partially built on such racist online discussions, it is difficult to see how exactly one would be able to resign from it.”
Jokisipilä, on the other hand, reminds that Rkp is divided in how its representatives and supporters relate to basic Finns.
“There, we will certainly consider whether the unpleasantness of being in the same government with basic Finns is a sufficient reason to throw away a good government program. According to some, it can certainly be, which is For Anna-Maja Henriksson a difficult situation to resolve.”
Rkp chairman Anna-Maja Henriksson.
Provided Basic Finns wants to survive the term of government as a credible government party, it must be able to renounce racism, Jokisipilä estimates.
According to him, it would be good to have a discussion before the government starts making decisions that tighten the immigration policy. Otherwise, racism might be interpreted as their motive.
“It requires a broad discussion about what racism is. Many people think that demanding a stricter immigration policy is racism, while others think that nothing is racist within the scope of political freedom of speech. The truth can be found in between,” Jokisipilä reflects.
According to Vuorelma, discussions about racism within political parties have already taken place in many other European countries.
“The question is whether the party is able to resign from the way it has been profiled among the voters for years,” states Vuorelma.
“Often the line is drawn to what the minister says, but yes, previous profiling has an effect on what kind of ideas the minister represents.”
One a milestone in the debate will be seen when the parliamentary session begins again, when the opposition parties probably do vote of no confidence in Purra’s ministry.
According to Jokisipilä, the vote must become the end point for the internal discussion of the government.
“If the Rkp votes in favor of Purra’s trust, after that it is not terribly credible for them to keep the discussion going,” Jokisipilä states.
If Purra gets the parliament’s trust, according to Vuorelma, the government can in the future rhetorically claim that Purra’s issue has been dealt with and there is no need to discuss the issue. However, the tension between basic Finns and Rkp will not disappear by voting.
“Also, the opposition, the media and civil society will certainly continue to raise the issue. The subject will not disappear from the general discussion with a vote of confidence.”
#Racism #Rkp #doesnt #kind #apology #Purra #researchers #estimate
