Estonian interior minister survives confidence vote over mocking of new female Finnish PM

Estonia’s hardline interior minister has narrowly survived a vote of confidence after his mocking of the new female Prime Minister of Finland, a close neighbor of the Baltic country, and her Social Democratic party.

Lawmakers at the 101-seat Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, voted Tuesday by 44 to 42 to remove Mart Helme from his post. However, the motion failed to pass because it did not achieve an absolute majority of 51. The move was initiated by the opposition Reform Party.

Helme, 70, in an interview with an Estonian radio talk show on Sunday, made a jibe at Sanna Marin, Finland’s new 34-year-old prime minister, saying “a cashier” was now leading Estonia’s neighbor. This was an apparent reference to Marin’s stint at a department store earlier in her career. A historian and Estonia’s former ambassador to Russia, Helme also mocked Marin’s ruling “red” Social Democratic Party, saying it was out to “liquidate” Finland with its policies, AP reports.

Last week Marin became the world’s youngest sitting Prime Minister and Finland’s third female government leader.