Conservatives declare themselves electoral winners in Finland

Conservative Petteri Orpo has declared his party the winner of Finland’s parliamentary elections. “You know what? That was a big win,” the 53-year-old head of the formerly opposition National Coalition Party said late Sunday to cheering party supporters in Helsinki. “With this result, we are starting to build a new government for Finland.”

The Social Democrats of Prime Minister Sanna Marin (37) lost their position as the strongest member of parliament in the Finnish parliamentary elections. Despite the win, after more than 90 percent of the vote was tallied late on Sunday evening, the party was only third behind the conservative National Coalition Party and the right-wing populist party The Finns. Ex-Finance Minister Petteri Orpo’s Conservatives were on course for an election victory and 48 out of 200 mandates. The Finnish party had 46 seats, the Social Democrats of Marin 43.

A provisional final result was expected around midnight on Monday evening. Voter turnout was 71.9 percent, about the same as in the last parliamentary election in 2019.

“Strong Mandate”

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 Finnish party, Riikka Purra, said if the result is confirmed it would be excellent. Nevertheless, we continue to strive for first place.

A first election trend immediately after the polls closed saw Conservatives and Social Democrats nearly aligned. The right-wing populists around their party leader Riikka Purra followed at a smaller distance at the time, but caught up in the course of the evening. The latest polls before the election already pointed to a neck-and-neck race between the three parties.

It is important which party is the strongest, because traditionally in Finland its leader is the first to form a government. For a parliamentary majority, the winner of the election will probably have to rely on one of the other major parties and at least one of the medium 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 in the EU. The 37-year-old social democrat leads a centre-left coalition of five parties. Many Finns appreciate her as a young, modern and powerful leader.

Your government has guided the northernmost country of the EU first through the corona pandemic and then together with President Sauli Niinistö through the NATO accession process, which will soon be completed: All 30 current alliance members have now agreed to admit the Finns, which will be over be a few days. According to NATO, Finland is officially the 31st member of the defense alliance.

Orpo promised new economic policies

Accession to NATO, however, 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 inflating the national debt. Orpo promised a new economic policy.

In the last parliamentary election four years ago, the three parties were less than a percentage point apart – with the best outcome for the Social Democrats, who then had 17.7 percent. The fact that they now strive for a better result than then is unusual for Finnish standards and is mainly attributed to the popularity of Marin. Typically, the party at the top of the government in Finland loses support during its tenure while the opposition gains.

What is striking about the figures: in the Yle projection, the three largest parties were all above their share of the vote in the last parliamentary elections. All government parties, except the Social Democrats, on the other hand, suffered losses, with the Greens in particular falling sharply. Because the election campaign was very focused on the dichotomy between left and right, it was difficult for her party to make her voice heard, Green leader Maria Ohisalo said early in the evening. “Of course it’s a disappointment.” (sda/dpa)