The former chair of the Finns Party, MP Jussi Halla-aho, has not participated in any parliamentary sessions for over four weeks, tabloid newspaper Iltalehti has reported.
IL wrote that Halla-aho has been absent from all nine of Parliament's plenary sessions since the end of last month, and during this time has also missed meetings of Parliament's Grand Committee — which discusses legislative, budget and treaty issues relating to the EU — as well as those of the Administrative Committee.
The former Finns Party leader's absence has also been noted in the minutes of Parliament.
Halla-aho confirmed to Iltalehti that he is on sick leave until 3 October, but he was not willing to comment further.
Halla-aho last attended a plenary session on 20 August, when Parliament met to discuss the deployment of the Finnish Defence Forces for a security operation in the area surrounding Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan.
In June, the then-leader of the populist Finns Party caused a stir when he unexpectedly announced that he was not planning to seek re-election to the role of party chair. Kirkkonummi MP Riikka Purra was subsequently elected leader of the party at a summer congress in the city of Seinäjoki on 14 August.