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Post: Three parties almost tied at the top

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A new parliament will be elected in Finland on 2 April. A five-party coalition led by Social Democrat Sanna Marin could be rejected by voting.


Sanna Marin, now 37 and head of government for more than three years, has since put Finland through a rough time: First came the Corona crisis, then the Ukrainian war in neighboring Russia, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Finland. In the EU, Sanna Marin is “everyone’s sweetheart”, with both her and her party’s (SDP) popularity ratings falling at the same time in her home country.

three parties ahead

According to the latest poll by public service broadcaster YLE, three parties that are very close to the election are leading the way:

The conservative National Coalition Party (NCP), led by Petteri Orpo, received 19.8 percent of the vote, while the right-wing populist “Finns” party, with its largest candidate Riika Purra, received 19.5 percent, again knocking Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s votes to third. . SDP with 18.7 percent.

Right-wing populists are leading even in polls among young voters

Markku Jokisipilä, a political scientist and historian at the University of Turku, cites the reasons for the good poll results for “Der Finnen” in a ZDF interview: “The only major party that offers an alternative on many issues, whether it’s criticism of Finnen. The EU, climate policy, value conservatism or immigration.”

It seems that the biggest problem of the younger generation is not the fight against climate change, but there is a large segment of the population whose problems are inflation, fuel prices and livelihood.

Markku Jokisipilä, political scientist

Finns worried about healthcare system and schools

There are many things that people between Lapland and Helsinki are passionate about: Finnish students’ performance has deteriorated in international comparison, there are big problems in the health system.

One reason is the lack of staff that can be felt all over Finland – whether it’s kitchen help at the husky farm or the nursing staff at the hospital. Riikka Purra, leader of the Finns party, polarizes Finnish society. He got into heated electoral debates with Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Finnish television.

Purra describes his party’s great success to ZDF:

Many people in this country are tired of being second-class citizens.

Riikka Purra, party leader “The Finns”

“This is the country where we are focused on saving the world and the climate. We are sending billions to somewhere but at the same time basic services are not working for us. We, ‘Finns’, want a much stricter immigration policy and a stricter immigration policy. Increasing the purchasing power of Finnish wage earners,” explains Purra.


Riikka Purra

The slogan “Finland first” draws attention

The slogan “Finland first” was well received. Neither conservatives nor social democrats can find an antidote. Finland’s national debt, which has risen from 64.9 percent of gross domestic product to 70.7 percent between 2019 and 2022 – partly due to the corona epidemic – also does not fully strengthen the ruling parties.

And the five-party centre-left alliance led by Marin has been increasingly embroiled in internal strife over the past three years of his government.

Political scientist Markku Jokisipilä sums up the election campaign this way: “Compared to other election campaigns, very little has been said about international issues. Important decisions like joining NATO were made before the election campaign even started. And regarding neighboring Russia, we are waiting.”

It seems that politicians do not want to develop a vision of how bilateral Finland-Russia relations could develop in the future.

Markku Jokisipilä, political scientist

Prolonged government formation likely

Sanna Marin has declared that her Social Democrats will never enter a coalition with the right-wing Finns. The conservative NCP prefers to keep a low profile; After all, Petteri Orpo wants power.

A good starting point for Riikka Purra’s “Finns”: front in the polls and without some kind of support or tolerance from right-wing populists, probably no one in Helsinki will ever run the country.

Experts are already anticipating a longer government formation in Finland.

Source: ZDF

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