[ad_1]
Finnish Conservative Party leader Petteri Orpo has won a three-way election, defeating the centre-left party led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
“We got the biggest mandate,” the National Coalition party leader said after a dramatic night of increasingly distant results from Mr. Marin’s Social Democrats.
Orpo won 20.8% of the vote, ahead of the right-wing populist Finnish Party and the centre-left.
Populists scored a record 20.1%.
It was a bitter defeat for Marin, who secured 19.9% of the vote by increasing his party’s seats.
She continues to enjoy high poll ratings and is widely credited with leading Finland towards its imminent entry into NATO and navigating the country through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shortly after the conservative leader claimed victory, the center-left leader conceded the election.
“Congratulations to the election winner, the National Coalition, the party of Finland. Democracy has spoken,” she told her supporters.
For weeks, the three parties were nearly evenly matched in the polls, but as the results came in, they became too close. Public broadcaster YLE then predicted the largest number of seats in the National Assembly, with Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition winning.
“I think Finns want change.
There was a sense of euphoria at the camp, according to Matty Koivisto, political correspondent for public broadcaster YLE. “When they saw the projection, it was clear they were going to win.”
Finnish party leader Riekka Pura congratulated his center-right rival and himself was pleased with the party’s best result in history.
“We are still trying to be number one, but having seven more seats is a great result.”
The Finns underscored their success by winning more regional victories than any other party in mainland Finland. Riikka Purra received more votes than any other candidate, and commentators underscored her party’s appeal to young voters through her social media outlets such as TikTok.
Meanwhile, the other three parties in the exiting coalition – the Center Party, the Left League and the Green Party – all suffered heavy losses.
Sanna Marin, now 37, became the world’s youngest leader when she stepped into politics in 2019. She led a coalition of her five political parties, all led by women.
Although her response to neighboring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was successful, the elections were largely contested over Finland’s economy and public debt, with all major parties supporting NATO membership.
Many Finns see her as a polarizing figure. Last year, she came under close scrutiny when a video of her singing, dancing and drinking at a party was released. and women around the world have shared a video of them dancing in solidarity.
By contrast, Petteri Orpo has none of Sanna Marin’s “rock star” qualities, says YLE’s Matti Koivisto.
“He has a career in politics. He has been in politics since the 1990s. He is very stable and calm. but it works well in Finland.”
If the Conservatives get their first chance to form a government and succeed, Orpo, 53, will become the next prime minister.
Under a government led by Olpo, Europe could count on pro-European conservatives from the liberal core of his party, which focused on economic policy.
Vesa Valles, a professor of modern history at the University of Turku, says she is very moderate, not as exciting as Sanna Marin. “Dream Son-in-Law”.
Under Finland’s proportional representation system, he needs to gather more than 100 seats in a 200-seat parliament to run the country, which is no easy task.
Orpo has two options. Form a right-wing coalition with Riikka Purra’s nationalist Finnish Party or reach an agreement with Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats.
“The Finns are very difficult partners because they have parliamentarians who are very inexperienced and dissatisfied with almost anything,” says Professor Vares.
“The most natural thing would be to cooperate with the Social Democrats, but [Sanna Marin] She used to belong to the left wing of her party, but it’s clear she doesn’t like conservatives. ”
Jenni Karimaki, a political researcher at the University of Helsinki, also said Marin was hesitant to speak out about her aspirations.
Social Democrats have mixed feelings, she says. This is because although they increased their seats in parliament, they were unable to become the largest political party and were unable to renew their prime ministership.
“But Finnish political culture is known for its flexibility. They are known for their ability to negotiate and compromise.”
[ad_2]
Source link