There will therefore be no second term for the social democrat Sanna Marin, at the head of a centre-left coalition government since December 2019 in Finland. On Sunday 2 April, the National Coalition Party (conservative) won the general elections, with 20.8% of the vote and 48 seats in Parliament, ahead of the nationalists of the Party of Finns, who obtained 20.1% of the vote (46 seats). The Social Democrats only come in third place, with 19.9% of the vote (43 seats).
The leader of the National Coalition Party, Petteri Orpo, will therefore succeed Sanna Marin and form the next government. Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016, he was briefly minister of agriculture, then of the interior, in the government led by the centrist Juha Sipilä, before being appointed to finance in 2017. A post he has occupied until 2019, leading a severe austerity policy.
A somewhat dull politician, without stature on the international scene, Petteri Orpo has a profile that contrasts with that of the current patroness of the Social Democrats. At the end of a campaign dominated by the economy – and the subject of public debt, in particular, which he promised to reduce, by cutting social spending – his party recorded the biggest increase (+3.6 points) and won eight new seats in Parliament.
“Rebuilding Trust”
“I have a priority, it’s the economy”, he said on Sunday evening, promising to “fixing Finland”. Petteri Orpo also mentioned the polarization of debates during the campaign and insisted that he wanted “restore trust” between the parties and “to form a government with a strong majority”. A mission that promises to be complicated.
According to the various observers of Finnish political life, questioned on the Yle channel on Sunday evening, Mr. Orpo should try to ally himself in priority with the Party of Finns. Founded in 1995, the nationalist formation achieves the best result in its history, thanks to an active campaign on social networks. She has especially benefited from the popularity of her leader since 2021, Riikka Purra, 45.
The conservatives have already governed with the Party of Finns, between 2015 and 2019. However, the nationalist party is no longer the same as it was then: in 2017, its most radical fringe took power, causing the split party. Its leaders, including its founder Timo Soini, who was then in government, slammed the door to create a new formation, the Blue Reform, which has now disappeared from the political landscape.
You have 47.44% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.