The new Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, Maria Lohela, has declined to comment on her past writings critical of immigration. In an Yle interview Saturday, she did however point to what she sees as a need for progress in equality of the sexes in some Islamic countries.
Interviewed on Yle TV1’s morning show on Saturday, the new Speaker of Parliament, Maria Lohela, commented briefly on her current views on Islam.
“If we look elsewhere in the world - take some of the Islamic countries - we cannot say that development and progress in matters related to equality of the sexes have been made there in the same way as here. There is much to be done in those countries so that people can freely say what they think and participate in society and democracy,” said Lohela.
The new Speaker’s past immigration-critical blog comments were spotlighted by the media at a press conference Friday, following Lohela’s election to the post. She was repeatedly asked by reporters about comments published online in which she expressed criticism especially of Muslim immigration to the West.
“Now in my role as Speaker, I do not want to take a position on these kinds of questions. My intention now is to represent Finland and the Parliament, with all parties equally in mind,” she told Yle.
Lohela also congratulated two MPs who came as immigrants to Finland who were voted into Parliament in April’s elections.
“It’s a big thing to throw yourself fully into an election. I’m glad they were successful in what a lot of others, aimed at and struggled to achieve,” Lohela commented.
In Finland, the Speaker of Parliament ranks second after the President of the Republic in the State hierarchy. The seat is usually held by an MP from the second-largest party in the legislature. At 36, Lohela is the youngest person to hold the post in almost 90 years, and only the third woman to do so since independence in 1917.