Finland’s Social Democratic Party Loses Power in Legislative Elections

Sanna Marin, one of the most recognized heads of government in Europe, since she brought Finland into the Atlantic Alliance and demonstrated unfailing support for Ukraine, will have to give way. The Social Democratic Party that she led to the polls came third in the legislative elections on Sunday.

It was Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition party (NCP) that emerged victorious. He won 48 seats out of the 200 in the Helsinki Parliament, closely followed by the Finns’ Party, a nationalist formation hostile to immigration, with 46 seats, and the Social Democratic Party, with only 43 seats.

Decrease spending

“The Social Democrats are trying to argue that this is a very good result since they managed to increase their number of seats in Parliament by three, even when they were in power”, observes Teivo Teivainen, professor of sciences politics at the University of Helsinki.

The bulk of the campaign revolved around economic issues, which benefited Petteri Orpo, who repeatedly called for a reduction in the debt and budget deficit. He wants to cut spending by 6 billion out of a budget of 83.5 billion euros. During Sanna Marin’s term, public debt rose from 40 billion euros to 195 billion to respond to the emergencies of Covid, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.

Attempt a right-wing coalition

The final official results will be announced on Wednesday and negotiations to form the new government will begin after Easter Monday. “It is likely that Petteri Orpo is seeking to form a right-wing coalition, because otherwise he would be highly criticized by the conservative branch for whom a more rigorous fiscal policy is necessary,” explains the political scientist.

An alliance with the far-right Finns Party, which has achieved a strong breakthrough, will no doubt be explored. As in Sweden, where the Swedish Democrats came out on top of the right-wing bloc in the last legislative elections, populists are on the rise in Finland. “In addition to its success with young people, the rise of the Finns Party can be explained, as for the Swedish Democrats, because it has become more acceptable to business circles. There is also, of course, the question of migration,” resumes Teivo Teivainen.

Coalition difficile

But a right-wing coalition will not be easy to build because it will be necessary to reach out to parties that will agree to govern with the Party of Finns. But “the leader of the center party announced on Monday that he would remain in the opposition. The Party of Swedes in Finland could be an option, but it is more progressive on a number of issues,” notes the researcher.

A coalition bringing together the social democrats and the centrist parties is also a possibility, if a right-wing government is not feasible. “In Sweden it is possible to have a minority government. He negotiates so that the other parties do not vote against him. In Finland, it’s different, you have to be sure of the objective support of the coalition,” emphasizes Teivo Teivainen, however.

With the coming to power of the National Coalition, the nuclear issue could reappear, because it is in favor of it. “One of the most important tasks of the future government will be to speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants in Finland, according to Teivo Teivainen. The National Coalition wants to make nuclear the cornerstone of Finland’s energy policy”.

Sanna Marin will be able to leave crowned with the success of joining NATO: Finland will become the 31st^e member of the alliance on Tuesday. In response, the Russians announced their intention to strengthen their military capabilities along the Finnish border.