When just over 90 percent of the votes were counted, Petteri Orpo felt confident enough to stand on stage at the Samlingspartiet’s election vigil, to the tune of Pet Shop Boys Go West. The winning party cheered through the entire song, before Orpo stated that this was a great victory. To a great extent, this was a moment of relief for Orpo. In 2022, he had a reassuring lead in the opinion polls, which then disappeared in the election campaign. In the top battle with the Social Democrats’ Sanna Marin and the True Finns’ Riikka Purra, it was Orpo who faced election day with the greatest fall. Now it still ended with a victory, but how big remains to be seen. Orpo’s profile issue has been the need to reduce Finland’s national debt, which was due to welfare being financed with borrowed money. During the pandemic, the public support to keep society going meant that the debt increased further, to a level that is now seen as long-term unsustainable. Orpo wants to make, among other things, healthcare more efficient, but also says that cuts will be necessary. Concerns about the economy Many voters share the concerns about the state’s finances, but given the trend in opinion, the question has not been a pure winner’s question. Not least inflation means that many Finns are initially wondering how they are going to get their private budget together. The election results still show that Finland is moving to the right. True Finns increased the second most and are therefore now believed to be Orpo’s first-choice alternative as a government partner. Regarding the economy, Orpo and Purra seem to be able to agree, but in other matters it looks much more difficult. The true Finns are distinguished by their fierce opposition to immigration, while everyone else agrees that Finland, with its dwindling workforce, needs more people from outside. True Finns are also significantly more critical of EU cooperation and think that Finland should speed up the climate transition more slowly. So there are tough nuts to crack, and the situation is further complicated by the fact that Orpo also needs to get one or a few of the smaller parties to get a majority in the Riksdag, and no party has as many enemies as the True Finns. Does not close the door Orpo says at the same time that he does not close any door, aware that he may have to turn to the Social Democrats instead. Given her strong international luminosity, Sanna Marin would not be a bad name as foreign minister. What speaks against this constellation, however, is that Orpo last night again emphasized the economy as his most important issue in the upcoming government polls, and there is a sharp line between right and left. Despite the sharp pledges of this unusually tough election campaign, all party leaders are aware that they will have to compromise. Politics here is still not as divided as in Sweden, but the process that Orpo is now starting is believed to be far from the smooth search for consensus that Finland is used to. In 2018, the formation of the government in Sweden took 131 days, here there is talk that it could last until midsummer. To allude to last night’s song selection by the Pet Shop Boys, it would undeniably be a step west for our eastern neighbor.
t4-general
ANALYSIS: The election results show that Finland is moving to the right
