Estonian Interior Minister Apologizes to Finnish Prime Minister for Insulting Remarks
Estonian Interior Minister Mart Helme on Monday apologized to the new Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, for his remarks about her and her cabinet that many considered to be insulting and degrading
Earlier in the day, Helme quoted Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin as saying that "any cook can become a minister" to describe the appointment of Marin, the youngest prime minister in the world and Finland so far. He called the 34-year-old politician a "salesgirl"-turned-prime minister, alluding to her work as a cashier during school years. He also made a comment on her government being made of street activists and uneducated people.
"I would like to say that I apologize to the Finnish prime minister if these wrongly interpreted words went viral in Finland, too," Helme told the Estonian broadcaster ERR.
Helme further claimed that his remarks were intended as a praise rather than insult.
"This particular sentence about the Finnish prime minister that you [journalists] interpreted as degrading I meant as an acclaim.
An acknowledgment of the fact that one can rise up from a low social level to the political top," Helme added.
Helme's remarks were quick to stir the country. Opposition lawmakers lashed at him, demanding that he resign and threatening to trigger a no confidence vote otherwise. The interior minister said he was not contacted by Prime Minister Juri Ratas in regards to resignation.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, in turn, called her Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, to formally apologized for Helme's remarks.
Marin herself reacted by saying on Twitter that she was proud of the country where a cashier indeed can become prime minister. Marin's government is formed by the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party of Finland - three of these parties are led by women below 35 like the prime minister herself.