Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s (37) Social Democrats lost their position as the strongest parliamentarian in Finland’s parliamentary elections. Despite gains, after more than 90 percent of the votes were counted late on Sunday evening, the party is only in third place behind the conservative National Coalition Party and the right-wing populist party The Finns.
Ex-Finance Minister Petteri Orpo’s conservatives are heading for an election victory and 48 of the 200 mandates. The Finns party has 46 seats, Marin’s Social Democrats 43.
A provisional final result is expected around midnight on Monday night. Voter turnout was 71.9 percent, roughly the same as in the last parliamentary election in 2019.
After the first projection at Yle, Orpo spoke of a “strong mandate for our politics”. Marin pointed out that not all votes have been counted yet. The head of the Finns’ party, Riikka Purra, said that if the result were confirmed, it would be excellent. Nevertheless, we continue to strive for first place.
A first election trend immediately after the polling stations closed saw conservatives and social democrats almost on a par. The right-wing populists followed at a smaller distance at the time, but caught up in the course of the evening. The last polls before the election had already pointed to a close neck-and-neck race between the three parties.
Strongest force receives mandate to form government
It is important which party is the strongest because traditionally in Finland its leader is the first to be given the task of forming a government. For a parliamentary majority, the winner of the election is likely to have to rely on another of the large parties and at least one of the medium-sized and smaller parties.
Sanna Marin has been Prime Minister of Finland since the end of 2019. Since then she has become one of the most sought-after politicians within the EU. The 37-year-old Social Democrat leads a five-party centre-left coalition. Many Finns value her as a young, modern and powerful leader.
Your government first led the northernmost country in the EU through the corona pandemic and then, together with President Sauli Niinistö, through the NATO accession process, which will be completed shortly: All 30 current alliance members have now agreed to the admission of the Finns, which will be in a few days According to NATO, Finland is officially the 31st member of the defense alliance.
However, joining NATO played no role in the election campaign. Instead, the main focus was on domestic issues such as increased government spending. Marin’s opponents accuse her of driving up the national debt. Orpo promised a new economic policy.
Social Democrats are the only governing party to win
In the last parliamentary election four years ago, the three parties were separated by less than one percentage point – with the best outcome for the Social Democrats, who had 17.7 percent at the time. The fact that they are now aiming for a better result than they did back then is unusual by Finnish standards and is mainly attributed to Marin’s popularity. Typically, the party at the top of the government in Finland loses support over its tenure while the opposition gains.
What is striking about the numbers is that the three largest parties are all above their share of the vote in the last parliamentary election in the Yle projection. All government parties except for the Social Democrats, on the other hand, are facing losses, with the Greens in particular falling significantly. Since the election campaign focused very much on the division between left and right, it was difficult for her party to make her voice heard, Greens leader Maria Ohisalo said early in the evening. “Of course it’s a disappointment.”
