Party-loving Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin surrendered on Sunday after her party narrowly lost parliamentary elections to the rival right-wing National Coalition Party.
The pro-business NCP was predicted to win 48 of the 200 parliamentary seats, narrowly beating out the nationalist Finns Party, which was predicted to win 46 seats. Election results from the Ministry of Justice showing that every vote cast in Marin County was tallied indicate that the Social Democrats won 43 seats. Petteri Orpo, head of the NCP, boasted in a speech that his party had received “the biggest mandate” to restore prosperity to Finland.
With Marin’s term likely coming to a close, he will be in the unique position of being able to create a coalition for the first time and try to win a majority in parliament. The 37-year-old Marin reassured his constituents that their party had made gains in both popularity and parliamentary representation. That’s a fantastic result, even if we didn’t win tonight. Marin, the youngest prime minister in the world as of her 2019 inauguration, has been criticized for her lavish spending and frequent drinking.
She was still held in high esteem by many Finns, particularly centrist youth, and was held up as an example for the next generation of reformist leaders everywhere. However, some conservatives criticized her spending on retirement and schooling, claiming that she was too lavish. Polls have shown the NCP ahead for the past two years, but that advantage has narrowed in recent weeks.
Since Marin took office, the national debt has risen to just over 70% of GDP, and this document asked for expenditure cuts and an end to this trend. Orpo criticized Marin for weakening Finland’s economy at a time when Europe is experiencing an energy crisis due to Russia’s attack of Ukraine. Marin has made seeking inclusion in NATO a priority in foreign policy in response to Russia’s aggression. Within days of NATO’s approval, the nation will officially become a member.