Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday in her country’s parliamentary election after Finland’s main conservative party won a narrow race to shut the door on the liberal champion’s hopes for reelection.
With all the votes counted, the National Coalition Party claimed victory with 20.8% of the vote, closely followed by the right-wing populist party, the Finns, with 20.1%. Marin’s Social Democrats came in third at 19.9%, according to the Associated Press.
IN HISTORIC REBUKE TO VLADIMIR PUTIN, NATO CLEARS PATH FOR FINLAND TO JOIN ALLIANCE IN COMING DAYS
National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo, who vowed to “fix Finland” and its economy in his campaign, said the NCP will lead the way in forming a new government. Because of the close result, none of the three parties are able to form a government alone, according to the worldwide news source.
At 37, Marin is one of the world’s youngest leaders and has been seen as a role model for liberal youth and a champion for women since her election as prime minister in 2019. However, she has faced scrutiny during her time leading the nation for partying and her handling of the country’s economy.
The election came right on the heels of Finland’s acceptance into NATO after all 30 member nations voted to allow the country to join the Western alliance in time for this week’s meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. The move was seen as a major rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin as Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia, now more than doubling the size of NATO’s border with the eastern power.
After Sunday’s election, Orpo, Finland’s former finance minister and likely new prime minister, made clear that his country will continue to stand with Kyiv.
“First to Ukraine: we stand by you, with you,” Orpo told the Associated Press. “We cannot accept this terrible war. And we will do all that is needed to help Ukraine, Ukrainian people because they fight for us. This is clear. And the message to Putin is: go away from Ukraine because you will lose.”
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While Finland has been accepted into NATO, there are still a few more steps to be taken for it to be official. Those steps can be completed as soon as this week.
