The Estonian interior minister narrowly survived a no-confidence vote Tuesday after he mocked the new Finnish prime minister, calling her a “salesgirl.”
Mart Helme, the chairman of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party, took a swipe at Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin during a radio interview on Sunday, ridiculing her and her party.
“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,” the 70-year-old Helme said of Marin, according to the BBC.
He also called Marin’s Social Democratic Party “red” and alleged that it was out to “liquidate” Finland with its policies.
At the age of 34, Marin, who has spoken out about growing up in a disadvantaged family and who worked as a sales assistant before going to a university, is the world’s youngest prime minister.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called her Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, on Monday to give a public apology on behalf of her country and its interior minister. She said she was “embarrassed” by Helme’s remarks.
Helme apologized much later, blaming the media for overplaying his comments. He said he had intended to “acknowledge that it is possible to work oneself up from a low social level also into top politics,” according to the BBC.
“If someone has misunderstood it… then indeed I want to say that I am offering my apology to the prime minister of Finland,” he added.
For her part, Marin responded on Twitter by saying she was “extremely proud of Finland.”
“Here a child from a poor family can get educated and achieve many things in their lives,” she wrote. “The cashier of the shop can become a prime minister.”
Helme is widely known in the Baltic country for political gaffes and sexist comments, including personal attacks on Kaljulaid. His most recent remarks led to the collapse of Estonia’s three-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Juri Ratas.
On Tuesday, members of the 101-seat Riigikogu voted 44-42 to remove Helme. However, the motion needed an absolute majority of 51 votes to pass.