Finnish leader Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party secured the highest votes during Sunday’s national elections, which will result in incumbent PM Sanna Marin stepping down from office.
Right-Wing Parties Win Tight Race
Orpo’s centre-right party secured 20.8% votes, with the far-right Finns Party securing a record-high of 20.1% votes.
Meanwhile, Marin’s Social Democrats won 19.9% of the votes, securing three more seats than in the previous election in 2019. However, her coalition partners — the Centre Party, Left Alliance, and Greens — witnessed significant reductions in their vote shares.
She congratulated the other leaders for the victory and conceded defeat, saying, “Democracy has spoken.”
Congratulations to my friend @PetteriOrpo for winning the elections in Finland!
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) April 2, 2023
At this crucial time towards @NATO membership, the people of Finland know that our commitment to protecting our shared values across Europe will only get stronger.
Yhdessä vahvempia 🇪🇺🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/2tmeUn88H8
This is a significant loss for Marin, who continues to be cheered for her success in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitating Finland’s accession to NATO.
Over the past weeks, experts were unsure about the winner in the elections as all three parties were performing equally well. This year’s election was centred around Finland’s economy and public debt, given that all parties supported NATO membership. In addition, the cost-of-living crisis, inflation rising to a record-high of 8.8% in February, and Finland’s national debt of $157 billion were focal topics during the elections.
Finns Party Celebrates Biggest Victory
After the Finns Party secured a record-high vote share, party leader Riikka Purra congratulated her centre-right counterpart Orpo.
The party is also celebrating their success in winning the most regions in mainland Finland. Moreover, Purra secured the highest votes among any candidate in the election.
Latest forecast in 🇫🇮 shows Coalition Party winning with a two-seat lead in the new Parliament, and that means that @PetteriOrpo - congratulations! - will be asked to form a new government. Choice of coalition partner and coalition talks are however likely to take some time. https://t.co/3XxsUETxff
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) April 2, 2023
What Comes Next
Historically, the party leader with the highest vote share becomes the PM, paving the way for Orpo to take up the position.
The National Coalition Party can partner up with either the Finns Party or the Social Democrats to form the government. According to an expert quoted by BBC, while the Finns are “a very difficult partner” as they are “inexperienced” and quickly “discontented,” the disagreements between the left-leaning Sanna Marin and Orpo will make the choice difficult.
Another Loss for the Left in Europe
The National Coalition Party’s victory in Finland comes amid rising popularity of right and centre-right parties in Europe. For instance, in November 2022, Danish PM Mette Frederiksen secured her second term in office soon after shifting her party’s position from the centre-left to the right.
In September 2022, Giorgia Meloni won Italy’s national elections, paving the way for her far-right party to secure power.
Election day in Finland today.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) April 2, 2023
I know that Finnish people support Ukraine and our fight for freedom - with weapons and humanitarian aid, cheering our successes and mourning our losses. Thank you! And grateful to the government of @MarinSanna standing with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/AMVerI749V
Similarly, in September, a coalition of four right-wing parties, along with the far-right and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which was previously ostracised for its neo-Nazi roots, defeated PM Magdalena Andersson and emerged as the second-largest party with 20.6% of the vote share.
In October, Sweden’s parliament also voted to appoint Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson as the country’s new PM, paving the way for him to lead a coalition of centre-right parties.
Elsewhere in Europe, Marine Le Pen has reached the final round of France’s last two presidential elections, while the far-right Vox party is growing increasingly popular in Spain.