Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, has lost her bid for a second term, with her party headed for defeat by two conservative opponents in an extremely tight three-way race for control of parliament. The center-right National Coalition Party claimed victory with around 97.7% of the votes counted, coming out on top at 20.7%. They were followed closely by right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1%, while the Social Democrats garnered 19.9%. With the top three parties each getting around 20% of the vote, no party is in position to form a government alone. Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties were vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic country’s parliament.
Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europe’s youngest leaders, has received praise for her Cabinet’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and for her prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinistö, in advocating for Finland’s successful application to join NATO. Her vocal support of Ukraine in the last year has increased her international visibility. Marin remains popular at home but her party’s views on the Finnish economy, which emerged as the main campaign theme, were being challenged by conservatives.
The economy was a key issue for voters, with National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo emphasizing economic issues at a campaign event Saturday. “The most important thing in the next government is to fix our economy, push economic growth, balance public economy. And the second very important issue is to build up NATO-Finland,” Orpo told The Associated Press in Espoo, just outside the capital.
The Finns leader Riikka Purra emphasized that if her party becomes a partner in the next government, it would focus on shaping policies regarding migration, climate, criminal and energy. “We also want to tighten up our attitude towards the European Union,” Purra said during a campaign event in the municipality of Kirkkonummi, her home district located some 45 kilometers west of Helsinki.
Apart from Finland’s economy, other issues the parties debated during the election campaign were the government’s increasing debt, climate change, education, immigration, and social benefits. Finland, which is expected to join NATO in the coming weeks, is a European Union member with a population of 5.5 million.
