Finnish PM apologises over sexual innuendo 'joke'



Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen apologised Thursday for emails he sent to a female party colleague who complained he made sexual references.
"If she felt embarrassed, I am of course sorry. I think the chain of (email) messages should be published. It was a joke," Vanhanen told reporters at parliament.



Vanhanen said he had met the woman, whose name was not disclosed, last autumn when his Centre Party launched a local election campaign. Vanhanen had later thanked her in an email for standing as a candidate.
Vanhanen was a candidate at his home village of Nurmijaervi, and his number on the electoral list was 69.
In an interview with celebrity magazine 7 Paeivaeae (7 Days) published on Thursday, the woman said Vanhanen had joked about his candidacy number and that she felt his comments were sexual and inappropriate.
"He then joked again about his number 69 and said he hoped it would not come into my dreams," she said.
"Everybody knows what 69 means in a sexual context. If someone jokes that this particular number might make you think of something, surely it means a certain position of having sex," she explained.
Vanhanen last month won a lawsuit against an ex-girlfriend and the publisher of her tell-all book where she revealed intimate details about their relationship.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, March 27th 2009
AFP
           


New comment:
Twitter

News | Politics | Features | Arts | Entertainment | Society | Sport



At a glance