Estonian Minister in a sexist attack called Finland’s new prime minister a ‘sales-girl’ and questioned her ability to lead the country. Soon after the Estonian President apologized for his interior minister’s ill-fitting remark.
Sanna Marin, 34, who is the world’s youngest serving government leader was sworn into office as the new Prime Minister on December 10. Marin had first entered the Parliament in 2015.
The 70-year-old Interior Minister Mart Helme, who is the leader of the populist far-right party Ekre, had insulted the Finland PM and her government on his party’s radio talk show on Sunday. Marin’s government is women dominated with four out of five coalition leaders are women.
Helme had said, “Now we see how one sales girl has become a prime minister and how some other street activists and non-educated people have also joined the cabinet.”
After Helme’s clearly misogynistic and sexist attack on Marin, the Estonian President, who is also a woman, Kersti Kaljulaid asked the Finland Sauli Niinistö to pass on her apologies to Marin and her government.
The appointment of Marin and her new government on Tuesday allows Marin to represent Finland at the European Union summit in Brussels later this week. Finland currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency until the end of the year.
Having emerged as Finland's largest party in the April election, the Social Democrats were able to appoint one of their own to the post of prime minister in the Nordic nation of 5.5 million people.
The coalition of the Social Democrats, the Center Party and three junior partners has said they are committed to the government program agreed upon after the April election and will continue in Marin's new Cabinet.
Marin who was the No. 2 in the Social Democratic Party, takes over from incumbent Antti Rinne, who stepped down a week ago after a key coalition partner, the Center Party, withdrew its support, citing lack of trust.
With inputs from Agencies.
