The Chancellor of Justice's Office has decided to take no further action in relation to a number of complaints made about the racist and violent comments written by Finns Party leader Riikka Purra on a blog in 2008.
The office received a total of 13 complaints since the comments resurfaced last month, and announced on Tuesday that nine have now been resolved.
Some of the complainants asked the Chancellor of Justice to investigate whether Purra's comments met the threshold for the crime of incitement against an ethnic group, while others called for a probe into her eligibility for the role of a government minister.
In its decision on the eligibility complaints, the office said it considers Parliament to be the correct place to assess the minister's suitability for the post.
"It is up to Parliament to take a position on the significance of Minister Purra's conduct when, after becoming a minister, she announced that she had posted comments on social media that she herself considered to be stupid," Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti wrote in his ruling.
Pöysti added that his office has not investigated whether the Finns Party leader could be guilty of incitement against an ethnic group because the Chancellor of Justice does not have jurisdiction over matters that occurred before Purra became a minister.
Eligibility assessment a "matter for the Prime Minister"
In addition to ruling that Purra's eligibility for the role of government minister is a matter for parliament, Pöysti also urged Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) to offer his own assessment.
"Moral and social considerations also play a role in interpretation. Their assessment is in principle a matter for the person elected by Parliament as Prime Minister," he wrote.
In addition to the 13 complaints filed against Purra, the office also received complaints about a number of other Finns Party ministers, including Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman (four complaints), Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (five) and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (one).
These complaints also asked the Chancellor of Justice to investigate whether each of the ministers were eligible for their roles as well as calling for probes into suspicions of ethnic agitation.
The office settled each of these complaints in the same ruling, deciding to take no further action.
Purra: Comments taken "out of context"
Riikka Purra returned to work on Monday from summer holidays, and will deputise as Finnish Prime Minister until Petteri Orpo returns next week.
Finland's new right-wing government came into office on 20 June, just before midsummer, but has been beset by a series of scandals.
In an interview with Yle on Tuesday, Purra said that her controversial comments had been taken "out of context".
"Unfortunately, the media took them completely out of context, making them look even worse. The conversation and what I wanted to say was completely obliterated, which then started this big debate," she said, adding that she would not use such terms in her ministerial work.
Purra also told Yle that she has "full confidence" in Wille Rydman, who Helsingin Sanomat reported last month used racist language in messages sent to a former partner.
Rydman is also facing the prospect that previous charges dropped against him for breach of confidentiality could be re-evaluated by prosecutors.