Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin admits defeat in the elections

() — Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat in the Nordic country’s parliamentary election on Sunday as the right-wing opposition National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a close contest.

The NCP was expected to win 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, well ahead of the Finnish nationalist party with 46 seats and the Marin Social Democrats with 43 seats, Justice Ministry election data showed with all ballots counted.

“We have the biggest mandate,” NCP leader Petteri Orpo said in a speech to supporters, vowing to “fix Finland” and its economy.

She will have her first chance to build a coalition for a majority in parliament as Marin’s era as prime minister is expected to end.

“We have gained support, we have won more seats (in parliament). It is an excellent achievement, even if we did not finish first today,” the prime minister said in a speech to party members.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks to the international media after the parliamentary elections. Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Marin broke the mold by becoming the world’s youngest sitting prime minister in 2019, at the age of 34. She worked as a cashier after finishing high school and was the first in her family to go to college. She entered politics at the age of 20 and rose quickly through the ranks of the centre-left Social Democratic Party.

Since coming to power, she has been regarded on the world stage as something of a trailblazer, an example to progressive leaders around the world.

Her youth and gender have set her apart from her predecessors, who were mostly middle-aged men.

Marin speaks to the media after being sworn in during a session of the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki on December 10, 2019. (Credit: Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AFP/Getty Images)

Marin and her New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, were quick to respond to a reporter who asked them about the purpose of a Finnish prime minister’s first visit to New Zealand late last year.

“A lot of people will wonder if the two of you are meeting just because you’re similar in age and, you know, a lot of things in common,” the journalist said during a joint press conference in Auckland. “We are meeting because we are prime ministers,” Marin responded.

Economic problems

Although Marin was praised internationally for her progressive policies, including those on transgender rights, she faced criticism at home for her coalition’s heavy spending.

The Marin government has placed importance on funding public services such as healthcare and education to ensure economic growth. But her political rivals accuse her of not controlling the country’s finances.

The criticism came at a time when Finland is expected to enter a recession this year. According to him Bank of Finland Bulletinthe country is facing the same problems as the rest of the world: an energy crisis aggravated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and a rising cost of living.

Both Orpo and Purra have pledged to boost public finances, and Orpo has stated that his main concern would be to deal with the country’s debt, even if it meant cutting social spending such as unemployment benefits, according to Reuters.

The price of fuel exceeds 2 euros per liter at a Boden gas station in Vexala, western Finland, on March 10, 2022. (Credit: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)

Teivo Teivainen, a professor of world politics at the University of Helsinki, explained that while Marin’s generous public spending was necessary during the pandemic, his promises to continue that policy have been cause for concern.

“For his opponents, especially those in his party in general, the main problem is the increase in public spending,” Teivainen told .

“Although this can be countered by the claim that in exceptional times of covid and war, the spending was in many ways necessary, his electoral platform now promises the continuation of relatively high public spending on health, education, care for the elderly and other welfare issues.

“His right-wing opponents say this is irresponsible to counter the state’s borrowing.”

recent controversy

Last year, Marin faced an internal backlash when images of him dancing appeared with friends.

She acknowledged having gone out partying “in a boisterous way” after the publication of private videos that went viral on the internet, but was angered by the leak to the media of the images, which drew criticism from her political opponents.

“These videos are private and were recorded in a private space. It bothers me that they have been made public,” Marin told reporters in Kuopio, Finland.

“I spent a night with my friends. We were partying, also in a boisterous way. I danced and sang,” he explained.

The images led some of Marin’s opponents to criticize her behavior as unbecoming of a prime minister. Mikko Karna, an opposition MP, tweeted that Marin should undergo a doping test, which later came back negative.

Others came out in support of the prime minister, and women from around the world posted videos on social media dancing with the hashtag #solidaritywithsanna. Her defenders argued that, as a young woman, she was entitled to enjoy normal activities, such as partying with her friends.

It was not the first time that Marin’s private life had been politicized in Finland. In 2021 he apologized to the public after a photo of himself in a nightclub came to light, after the Finnish Foreign Minister tested positive for covid-19.

form a coalition

The winner of these elections will have to form a multi-party coalition to obtain a majority in Parliament. However, negotiations could prove difficult.

Marin refused to form a government with Purra’s Finnish Party, calling it “blatantly racist” during a debate in January, a charge Purra vehemently denied.

Teivainen believes that one of the most likely results of the elections is a right-wing government, made up of the Finnish Party and the National Coalition Party.

“The more radically anti-immigrant views of the Finnish Party would be somewhat tempered by the National Coalition, which would recognize the need to attract more immigrant workers to Finland for economic reasons.

“In any case, it would be a clearly more fiscally and socially conservative government compared to the current one, although not so different from the right-wing government that preceded it.

“It could also mean that Finland’s current pledge to be carbon neutral by 2035 could be relaxed,” he told .

Finnish Party Chairman Riikka Purra and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin during a political debate in Helsinki on March 28, 2023. (Credit: Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images)

Purra earlier promised his party would delay Finland’s carbon neutrality target, which Marin’s ruling coalition set for 2035.

According to Teivainen, the other likely outcome is a coalition between the National Coalition Party and Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats, which, in his opinion, “would imply a certain shift, albeit more moderate, towards right-wing politics, especially in terms of discipline.” fiscal”.

Whoever Finland’s new leader is, he will be tasked with leading the country’s entry into NATO, after Turkey will finally approve last week Helsinki’s request to join the military alliance, ending months of delays.

Yle interviewed 1,830 Finnish citizens with the right to vote. The survey was conducted between March 1 and 28, 2023. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus two points.

With additional information from Reuters*