By Anne Kauranen
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s economy minister Vilhelm Junnila survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday called by the opposition over references he made that were linked to Nazis.
Junnila is a member of the nationalist Finns Party, part of a right-wing coalition that took office last week following an election in April.
The opposition accused him of repeatedly making Nazi references, the latest during his election campaign.
Public broadcaster YLE saw Junnila congratulate his fellow party member on his candidate number, 88.
This is known as a neo-Nazi symbol used in place of the “Heil Hitler” salute referencing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in World War Two. The Anti-Defamation League calls it “one of the most common white supremacist symbols”.
“First of all, congratulations for the excellent candidate number. I know it’s a winning card. Obviously, this “88” refers to two H letters which we won’t say more about,” Junnila said in his address at a campaign event on March 10, according to YLE.
Junnila has apologised for his choice of words, saying it was a distasteful joke.
“I condemn holocaust, antisemitism and all antisemitic acts completely,” he wrote on social media last Thursday.
The no-confidence motion, proposed by the opposition Green Party, was voted down by members of parliament with 95 supporting the minister and 86 voting against him, including seven from coalition member the Swedish People’s Party.
“The connections to far-right movements are not a single mistake, misunderstanding or bad humour, but rather repeated, systematic and comradely liaison,” Green Party MP Hanna Holopainen said as she proposed the motion on Tuesday evening.
In 2019, Junnila gave a speech at an event organised by a Finnish far-right group to commemorate the victims of a 2017 knife attack by a Moroccan asylum seeker.
Finns Party chair Riikka Purra defended the minister on Twitter, accusing the opposition of attempting to oust him for his “bad and ill-suited” humour.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters he had given Junnila “a serious warning”.
In the April election, the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Finns Party came in second with 20.1% of the vote, right behind the winner National Coalition at 20.8%. The conservative NCP then formed a coalition with the Finns Party and two smaller groups.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
