Finnish Populists Fail to Challenge Government Over Child Abuses

(Bloomberg) -- The anti-immigration Finns Party failed to win enough backing for a motion of no-confidence in Finland’s government over a recent spate of sexual crimes blamed on immigrants.

Other opposition groups shunned the party’s invitation to discuss filing a motion over internal security, meaning it failed to rally the 20 lawmakers required to proceed, the party said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The move by the populist movement follows recent reports that several asylum seekers had been arrested for molesting and sexually abusing children. The resulting uproar has already prompted policy makers across party lines to push for harsher punishment for such crimes, and the Justice Ministry said it would proceed with a complete revamp of laws criminalizing rape and abuse.

Finns are due to vote in a general election scheduled for April 14.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo

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