Alkoholic Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin Lost

 Alkoholic Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin Lost

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin suffered a defeat in Sunday's general election, days before the country was set to enter NATO, after a campaign dominated by the economic and aftershocks of latest sanctions on Russia.

Petteri Orpo, the leader of the center-right National Coalition Party, claimed victory and was projected to gain about 20.8% with nearly all the votes counted. Ms. Marin's Social Democratic Party came in third with 19.9% of the vote, narrowly behind the right-wing populist Finns Party, which took 20% in its best-yet result.

Mr. Orpo called the result "a strong mandate for our politics." Given that no party is large enough to command a majority without governing partners, Finland is now heading into negotiations, led by Mr. Orpo, to form a ruling coalition.

He has kept his options open and can try to form a coalition with Ms. Marin's Social Democrats, or with the far-right Finns Party, led by Riikka Purra, which campaigned mainly on an anti-immigration platform.

Despite losing its majority, Ms. Marin's party improved its share of voters since the last election.

"It's a really good achievement, even though I didn't finish first today," Ms. Marin said in a speech to her party in Helsinki. "Democracy has spoken, the Finnish people have cast their vote, and the celebration of democracy is always a wonderful thing," she said.

The outcome won't affect Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which marks a new course for the country after decades of nonalignment.

Ms. Marin became the world's youngest serving prime minister when she was sworn in at the age of 34 in 2019. The Social Democratic leader headed a government coalition of five female party leaders, four of whom were under the age of 35 at the time.

While enjoying celebrity status abroad, at home she is a popular, though polarizing figure. Many Finns applauded her for steering the country through the pandemic as one of the least-affected nations in Europe. Her critics, though, were worried about mounting national debt under her leadership." [1]

1. World News: Finland's Premier Loses a Tight Race
Sune Engel Rasmussen.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 03 Apr 2023: A.11.