Parikka said he had been in touch with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over comments made by Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee. New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key expressed his regret over Brownlee's comments to President Sauli Niinistö at the Seoul Summit.
Parikka said he had told the Foreign Ministry about the level of indignation caused in Finland by Brownlee’s derogatory remarks. Parikka added the Foreign Ministry considered the incident to be “very unfortunate.”
“Despite claims in the Finnish press, no diplomatic note had been sent,” Parikka said.
Parikka emphasised that Brownlee’s speech should be seen in the light of New Zealand’s political culture, which is quite different from that in Finland.
”Political language is very colourful complete with jibes and insults,” Parikka explained. “Finland was a scapegoat between the government and opposition.”
"Comments regrettable"
The issue of Brownlee’s comments also came up in discussions between President Sauli Niinistö and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the Seoul Summit. Key expressed his regret at the remarks.
Commenting on his discussion with John Key, President Niinistö noted that Finland was not the only country where unguarded comments were made.
“We decided to conclude the matter with an amusing tale that when I served as Finance Minister in Finland, many people wanted the New Zealand model. This time round, people in New Zealand looked to the Finnish model. Perhaps together they might form a perfect model,” the President remarked.
Last week, New Zealand's Transport Minister and Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee poured scorn on Finland during a parliamentary debate, calling Finns a nation of uneducated, unemployed people with a high murder rate and little respect for women.
Brownlee later said that his comments were intended to be satirical, although spiked with a grain of truth. He added that Finns should not be offended by the debate, and according to local press, conceded that "there were some aspects of Finland's economic policy that you'd have to say are admirable."