Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz (SPP) on Tuesday said he did "not appreciate the comments" made by Finns Party MP Mauri Peltokangas last weekend on social media that lauded a Finnish retailer for the lack of 'Mogadishu dialects' and 'camels or flying carpets' in the parking lot.
"I'm not happy about it, and it doesn't help the work of the government," Adlercreutz told Yle News.
Peltokangas, who also serves as his party's vice-president, previously faced incitement charges for similar language.
"And now he chose to use them again," Adlercreutz added, claiming that the entire government backs its anti-racism campaign launched last month.
The campaign was announced last summer after a raft of racism scandals engulfing the Finns Party, which is the second largest party in parliament and a key part of the four-party governing coalition.
"Concrete measures"
"The government has committed to it. It's a good programme. It's full of concrete measures," Adlercreutz said.
"I think as public figures, as Members of Parliament, it's not only about the freedom of speech — it's always about the responsibility that you have for what you say and how you discuss the people around you," Adlercreutz said.
Finns Party leader Riikka Purra had originally said her party would not separately join the campaign, before clarifying her comments.
Separately, anti-racist NGOs have refused to participate in the campaign. The JHL trade union described it as a "disgraceful cover-up attempt" while a group of NGOs demanded legislative action and said that individual campaigns like this one "do not change the situation".
MP Zyskowicz: "Stupid" post
Veteran MP Ben Zyskowicz of the National Coalition Party, which is also part of the coalition government, called Peltokangas' social media post "stupid".
Zyskowicz said that Peltokangas' post was an attempt at being funny, but "in my opinion, it was a stupid post that incites and maintains prejudices against immigrants who came to Finland".
"Immigration policy can be criticised and the Finns Party has every right to do so, but it can also be done in a factual and reasonable way," Zyskowicz noted.
In 2021, an appellate court cleared Peltokangas of incitement, ruling that political freedom of speech allows for a certain degree of exaggeration and provocation.
News outlets have suggested that Peltokangas' recent post is part of the party's dual messaging, signalling to its support base that its policies have not changed, despite being in government. Traditionally the party has attacked past governments' immigration policies, but it is now unable to do so as it is a part of the ruling coalition.
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