Finland’s conservative National Coalition party successfully forms a majority government

Finland’s conservative National Coalition (NCP) party, which emerged victorious in the April parliamentary election, has successfully formed a majority government with the eurosceptic and anti-immigration Finns Party, as well as two smaller groups. NCP leader Petteri Orpo announced this significant development on Thursday, indicating a rightward shift in Finnish politics and pushing Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s left-wing government into opposition.

Orpo expressed his contentment with the outcome, stating that all issues had been resolved and the necessary paperwork was ready, referring to the agreed-upon government program. As a result of this coalition formation, Orpo, known for his fiscally conservative stance, is poised to become Finland’s next prime minister.

The negotiations to determine the governance of Finland for the next four years took 11 weeks to complete. The Finns Party and the Swedish People’s Party, representing minority-language speakers, faced challenges in finding common ground on key issues such as immigration, climate policy, and public finances. However, after intense discussions, a compromise was reached, enabling the formation of the coalition government.

Orpo’s government is expected to prioritize measures aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit, which may include cuts to unemployment and welfare benefits. Immigration policies are likely to be tightened, while environmental commitments may be relaxed. Although the exact details of each policy area remain unclear as they underwent rigorous negotiations, it is evident that this right-wing coalition will bring significant changes to Finland’s governance.

While Orpo has expressed his objective to lower taxes and divest government-controlled company holdings, he refrained from providing further details at this time. In the April general elections, the National Coalition Party secured 48 seats, slightly ahead of the Finns Party with 46 seats. The Social Democrats, led by outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, came in third with 43 elected members in the 200-seat parliament.

To secure a majority, Orpo included the Swedish People’s Party with nine seats and the Christian Democrats with five seats, bringing the total support for the government to 108 seats.