Finland's right-wing opposition claims win in parliamentary election
Apr 02, 2023
Helsinki [Finland], April 3 : Finland's right-wing opposition National Coalition Party won the parliamentary elections on Sunday (local time), according to Yleisradio Oy, the country's national public broadcasting company.
Petteri Orpo's party National Coalition Party received more than 93.4 per cent votes, which means that very soon, the country will get the new Prime Minister.
"Do you know what? It was a win," said Orpo as he arrived to greet cheering supporters.
Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats finished the line on third place.
The radical right Finns Party, meanwhile, gained seven new MPs and took 20 per cent of the vote.
The National Coalition Party was on top with 20.7 per cent, followed closely by the right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1 per cent, while the Social Democratic Party of Marin garnered 19.9 per cent.
The Centre Party, Left Alliance and Greens all suffered large losses after their participation in the current five-party coalition, with leaders of all three saying it would be difficult for them to go back into government after these election results.
According to Yleisradio Oy, Orpo faces a difficult job forming a government in the new parliament, with his first task to put out feelers to each of the parties to find any common ground on the important issues and explore the prospect of drafting a government programme.
Once that task is complete, he will enter into negotiations with his preferred coalition partners and set out a plan for the next four years.
The NCP has led in polls for almost two years, although its lead melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) since Marin took office in 2019, according to Al Jazeera.
