Estonia's far right Interior Minister Mart Helme is almost voted out of the country's parliament after he took a swipe at close neighbour Finland's newly elected young Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Estonia's president Kersti Kaljulaid has issued an apology to Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin after Estonia's Interior Minister Mart Helme mocked the young Finnish leader about her background.Ms Marin is the world's youngest prime minister, at 34 years of ageThe 70-year-old Mr Helme made his controversial remarks on his party's radio talk-show.
"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," Mr Helme said. Mr Helme, Estonia's former ambassador to Russia, also mocked Ms Marin's ruling"red" Social Democratic Party, saying it was out to"liquidate" Finland with its policies.
Ms Kaljulaid phoned her Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, offering a public apology on behalf of Estonia and Mr Helme to Ms Marin and her government, and said she was"embarrassed" by the comments of Mr Helme, who leads the populist far-right party Ekre. Mr Helme's remarks triggered a vote of confidence to be called against him in Estonia, with MPs voting 44 to 42 to remove him from his post. However, the motion failed to pass because it did not achieve an absolute majority of 51.
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