Finnish News Recap, Week 27: New Minister, New Troubles edition

Since I’m writing these for the past week’s events and things have moved pretty fast during this hectic first month of the government, there’s been *yet another* scandal that has resolved itself (or has it?) during the start of *this* week, but that’s going to be handled in next week’s update… probably.

NEW MINISTER: After the government held a discussion on the “rules of the game”, The Finns Party chose their replacement for the resigned Vilhelm Junnila, but their choice hardly was less controversial. Wille Rydman, the new minister, has a long history in Finnish politics – as a member of National Coalition, the center-right party leading the government.

However, last year, he moved to the Finns Party. Why? While he had been anti-immigration and firmly on the right flank of his former party, for years he had been a loyal member of his old party… until he became the center of a firestorm and was cast out. For, you see, he had been the leader of his old party’s youth organization, and several young women who had been in the organization at the same time came out to accuse him of sex pest behavior.

The accusations concerned a host of things, from dodgy comments about underage girls to hitting women (who did not want it) and rape. Rydman has steadfastly denied his guilt and accused the ex-girlfriends of being in a conspiracy, led by one particular ex. This ex in question has also leaked some FB messages where Rydman fantasized about giving a speech from the same pulpit as Hitler etc., but these did not catch fire in the same way as with the comments of several other ministers, for whatever reason.

The police stopped their investigation after a while, and how one sees the validity of the grooming claims tends to depend on one’s political viewpoint, though it seems at least undeniable that Rydman is pretty weird about his relationships and likes them on the younger side. Whatever the case, National Coalition appears to have thought that the claims had validity, so the Finns Party naming his a minister was interpreted as a direct challenge to them.

However, since the Finnish tradition is that all parties name their own ministers and since the government is walking on thin ice as it is, there was little they could do expect express their barely concealed displeasure. The goal of austerity remains, and this government cannot be let to fall before the goal is actualized.

IN OTHER NEWS: Usually I go with two stories, but there have been a lot of smaller stories and I could not decide which one to include.

• Social Democratic leadership hopeful Antti Lindtman had a scandal of his own, as youthful pictures from his film shootings emerged due to Finnish image board member sleuthing with him sieg-heiling while naked, pointing at the number 88 and so on. Lindtman indicated he was sorry for the images, and it remains to be seen if and how they will affect his leadership changes.

• The Finns Party’s former chair and current Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho announced a presidential bid, as did (as an independent) Covid conspiracy theorist Saara Huhtasaari, the sister of The Finns Party’s previous presidential candidate MEP Laura Huhtasaari.

• Eager to prove that her party – quite invisible in other ways – is in government, Christian Democrat leader Sari Essayah said that the government ministers should not march in Pride marches from now on.

• Ageing and the need of health care professionals and etc. mean that more women than men are employed now in Finland.

• Russia expelled Finnish diplomats, prompting a consideration of countermeasures. Also, preparations happened for Finnish participation in the Vilnius NATO summit and for President Biden’s visit.

• There was a small demonstration against the government in my hometown, with the biggest thing concerning the social media being the presence of sickles-and-hammers flags due to a gaggle of local Maoists, sickles and hammers not exactly being a liked symbol in Finland for obvious reasons.

Image: Wille Rydman. https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnishgovernment/52880154939/