In a closely contested election, Finland’s right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) declared victory, forcing the country’s left-leaning Prime Minister Sanna Marin to concede defeat.
According to justice ministry election data after all votes were counted, the pro-business NCP was predicted to win 48 of the 200 members in parliament, just ahead of the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Marin’s Social Democrats with 43 seats.
NCP leader Petteri Orpo promised to “repair Finland” and its economy in a speech to supporters, saying, “We have the biggest mandate.”
He will have the first opportunity to put together a coalition to win a majority in the legislature as Marin’s tenure as prime minister was anticipated to come to an end.
Both support and seats have increased for us (in parliament). Even if we didn’t come in first today, that’s still a fantastic accomplishment, the prime minister remarked in a speech to party members.
The 37-year-old Marin, who became the youngest prime minister in history in 2019, is revered by supporters all over the world as a millennial role model for forward-thinking new leaders, but at home she has come under fire for her excessive partying and her government’s extravagant spending.
While many Finns, especially young moderates, still find her to be quite likeable, she alienated some conservatives with her extravagant spending on pensions and education, which they felt wasn’t economical enough.
Even though its lead has diminished in recent months, the NCP has been in the lead in polls for almost two years. The state debt, which has risen to slightly over 70% of GDP since Marin assumed office in 2019, has been promised to be reduced.
Orpo charged Marin with weakening Finland’s ability to withstand the impact of Europe’s energy crisis, which is being caused by Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, and rising living expenses.
While Marin stated that her Social Democrats may form a coalition with the NCP but will not do so with the Finns Party, Orpo stated that he will negotiate with all parties to secure a majority in parliament.
In a discussion in January, Marin accused the nationalist Finns Party of being “openly racist,” a charge that the party denied. The main objective of the Finns Party is to lessen what its leader Riikka Purra has referred to as “harmful” immigration from poor nations outside of the European Union.
It endorses the NCP’s position on austerity measures to reduce deficit expenditure. The most famous of Marin’s foreign policy initiatives has been her and President Sauli Niinisto’s campaign for the nation to make a historic U-turn in its foreign policy by applying for NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now that all 30 countries of the Western Defense Alliance have approved Helsinki’s membership, that procedure is practically finished.
