Crosspost from c/europe
"Minister survives confidence vote after far-right scandal
Three opposition parties called for the vote over the Finns Party minister's links to far-right groups and past statements.
Finland's new economic affairs minister and member of the nationalist Finns Party, Vilhelm Junnila, survived a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday.
MPs votes on the measure fell 95-86 with three abstentions and 15 absences.
The confidence vote was called by three opposition parties, the Left Alliance, Green and Social Democratic parties, due to Junnila's previous controversial statements and links to far-right groups.
Seven Swedish People's Party MPs voted against Junnila, with the other three abstaining. Three National Coalition MPs were absent for the vote, but the other government party MPs voted their confidence in the controversial politician.
Junnila has joked about his election number (88) referencing 'Heil Hitler', campaigned at an election under the "gas" slogan and spoken at at least one event organised by a far-right group.
The recently-appointed minister apologised last week for his comments and actions, following two days of media controversy about the matter.
MPs also voted on the government programme, with 106 voting to support it, 78 voting against, and one abstention. 15 legislators were away for that vote.'
I was thinking it was just a right wing, anti-immigrant politician, not an actual Nazi. Then I went to check.. holy hell.
Also, Finland's Air Force used the swastika until 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53249645
and had been for several years before nazism existed, because the swastika is not exclusively a nazi symbol
for instance several chinese religions continue to use the swastika today, ditto for the nepal chamber of commerce, the ahmedabad stock exchange and other organisations
Small correction, those "swastikas" are oriented square, whereas the Nazi swastika is rotated 45 degrees.
the finnish airforce, having adopted the symbol before and entirely separately from the nazis, did not use a 45° hakenkreuz either
swastika is just what that style of cross is called
Not even necessarily a cross. Arevakhach and borjgali are also technically swastikas (one is literally called a cross, though, but it's not).
So it was used because of a fascist, banned because it was fascist, but it wasn't fascist.