Key Highlights:
- Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, lost her bid for re-election.
- The conservative and far-right rivals secured the general election with razor-thin margins.
- The National Coalition Party leader, Petteri Orpo, is most likely to be the next prime minister, but no party is in the position to form a government on its own.
Sanna Marin’s bid for re-election as Finland’s Prime Minister failed as her party suffered a defeat in the general election from conservative and far-right rivals. Her Social Democratic Party came in third place, with only 19.9% of voters supporting them, after the center-right National Coalition Party and right-wing populist party The Finns.
Petteri Orpo, leader of the National Coalition Party, is most likely to become the next prime minister of Finland. It is uncertain whether the leaked video showing Marin partying earlier this year affected the election’s outcome.
However, Finland’s position on key international policies is unlikely to change under new leadership, and the new prime minister affirmed Finland’s support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. The news could signal a shift in Finnish politics towards the right.
