The Finns Party’s think tank Suomen Perusta is being ordered to pay back part of the money it receives from the state, after violating the terms and conditions for receiving the grant in the first place.
The Ministry of Education and Culture says it will claw back €10,183.29 from the right-wing organisation, the equivalent of the fee paid to Jukka Hankamäki plus interest, for writing a controversial book for the think tank.
The book, called ‘Truth Excites – A Philosophical Study of the Information and Truth Crisis in the Left-Wing Populist Media’ was published in June. Suomen Perusta is an organisation which says it focuses on “immigration / multiculturalism, European integration and economics.”
Under the terms and conditions for receiving grant money, recipients must promote equality and non-discrimination in its activities. and the ministry has decided that Suomen Perusta - an organisation which says it focuses on “immigration / multiculturalism, European integration and economics” - did not meet the criteria.
“The work violates equality in many respects by committing harassment prohibited by the Equality Act” the ministry says in a statement.
So what does the controversial book say?
The 420-page book deals with a range of topics including equality and society, and critiques media outlets, Helsingin Sanomat in particular, from a conservative viewpoint.
Some of the most controversial topics tackled by the book include blaming women for the phenomenon of grooming children for sexual exploitation; criticising the idea of punishing men for marital rapes; and also criticising Finnish women for having children with men from developing countries.
Hankamäki writes that some Finnish women who have been rejected by Finnish men have “wanted revenge on Finnish society by mating with a foreigner.”
Academic Hankamäki and think tank Chairman Marko Hamilo appeared alongside Finns Party Chairman Jussi Halla-aho at the book launch, which was heavily promoted on the Finns Party’s social media accounts.
Later the Finns Party tried to distance itself from the publication, with Halla-aho saying he hadn’t read it before endorsing it at the book launch, but the party didn’t issue an official apology for the contentious chapters inside.
This is not the first time the state has demanded a refund from a Finns Party-linked organisation over breaches of the terms and conditions of funding.
In June 2019 the Finns Party’s Youth organisation was defunded by the ministry, and forced to pay back its grant, after publishing racist posts on social media.
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