Finns party MPs Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew during a plenary session of Parliament in Helsinki on 12 December 2025. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva
- Next Article Sunlight returns briefly to Helsinki as winter cold spreads across Finland
Finns Party MPs are under pressure after publishing images and video featuring a gesture commonly interpreted as mocking people of East Asian descent.
Juho Eerola, Kaisa Garedew, and MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen each mimicked a sideways eye-pulling gesture in posts shared on Thursday. The MPs claimed the content was intended to express solidarity with Sarah Dzafce, a former Miss Finland who was stripped of her title on Thursday after performing a similar gesture online.
Eerola, who posted the photo as his Facebook profile image, said the aim was to criticise the Miss Finland organisation. “It was not to mock Chinese, Koreans or anyone else,” he told Helsingin Sanomat. He added that he understood why some people found the image offensive and later apologised in an interview with MTV News “for the misunderstanding and upset it caused”.
Tynkkynen echoed that view. In a video on X, he performed the same gesture, claiming the media had shown the image uncensored and that his version did not go further. “It wasn’t about mocking anyone,” he said. Tynkkynen defended humour based on stereotypes and denied the act was racist. “If the intent is to offend, that’s wrong. But that wasn’t the case here.”
Garedew also posted a photo of herself stretching her eyes. In a text message, she called Dzafce’s dethroning an excessive response, but did not explain her own gesture.
Screenshot of a photo Kaisa Garedew posted on Facebook on Thursday.
The images have sparked criticism across party lines and in public debate. The gesture is widely recognised internationally as a racial insult, particularly targeting people of East Asian heritage.
Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz, leader of the Swedish People’s Party, called the MPs’ behaviour “irresponsible, childish and stupid”. He added, “It’s obvious that it offends people.”
From the National Coalition Party, Pia Kauma, deputy parliamentary group chair, said racist gestures must be addressed early to prevent normalisation. “We all signed the government’s commitment to a respectful atmosphere,” she said.
Parliamentary group leaders from the four government parties are scheduled to meet next Tuesday to discuss the matter.
Despite the criticism, the Finns Party’s parliamentary leader Jani Mäkelä wrote in a post on X that Eerola’s acts have his full support.
MPs who replicated the gesture said their intention was to defend Dzafce and protest what they viewed as an overreaction.
Green MP Fatim Diarra demanded action from Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, asking why the previously announced zero-tolerance policy on racism had not been enforced. “Where are the promised sanctions?” she asked in a statement. Diarra described the images as “visibly racist” and argued that the Finns Party could not unilaterally decide what constitutes racism.
Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela also criticised the government, accusing the Finns Party of using cultural controversy to distract from economic policy decisions affecting low-income citizens.
The Prime Minister has so far declined to comment, referring to the process agreed between coalition partners. Under the government’s internal protocol, such incidents are first discussed by parliamentary group leaders. Each party then decides on any consequences for its own members.
Previous incidents involving Finns Party members led to the creation of this so-called sanction mechanism. But no official consequences have yet followed the latest gesture posts.
HT
- Next Article Sunlight returns briefly to Helsinki as winter cold spreads across Finland
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
