This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Estonia’s president has apologised after his country’s interior minister mocked Finland’s new prime minister – the world’s youngest serving government leader – as a “sales girl” and questioned her fitness for the post.

Mart Helme, 70, the leader of the populist far-right party Ekre, ridiculed Finland’s Sanna Marin, 34, and her government – in which four out of five coalition leaders are women under 35 – on his party’s radio talkshow on Sunday.

“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,” Helme said.

Estonia’s president, Kersti Kaljulaid, asked Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, to pass on her apologies to Marin and her government.

Marin, who has spoken about growing up in a disadvantaged family, worked as a cashier before studying at university and embarking on a political career.

“I’m extremely proud of Finland. Here a poor family’s child can educate themselves and achieve their goals in life. A cashier can become even a prime minister,” Marin wrote on Twitter.

Play Video 'There's no trick': Finland's Sanna Marin youngest PM in world – video

Helme, a former ambassador to Russia, is known for outspoken statements that regularly embarrass the prime minister, Jüri Ratas, and his Centre party, Ekre’s coalition partner.

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Ekre was accepted into a government coalition for the first time in April after Ratas lost parliamentary elections but clinched a deal to stay in power.

Kaja Kallas, an Estonian opposition leader, said on Monday that the opposition would organise a no-confidence vote in parliament if Helme did not resign over his comments about Finland’s new leaders. Previous similar attempts have failed.

“The interior minister has offended the Finnish government and personally attacked the newly appointed Finnish prime minister,” Kallas said.