HELSINKI: Finns voted on Sunday in legislative elections that could see the country take a dramatic turn to the right, as centre-right and anti-immigration parties vie to unseat Social Democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
After the breakthrough by nationalists in neighbouring Sweden and the far right’s victory in Italy last year, Finland could become the latest country to join the nationalist wave in Europe. First results are expected around 8:00 pm.
The vote comes just days ahead of Finland’s formal accession to the Nato defence alliance.
“The polls show that the more right-wing political trend in Finland is gaining strength,” Juho Rahkonen from the E2 research institute said.
Traditionally, the biggest of the eight main parties in parliament gets the first chance to build a government, and since the 1990s that party has always claimed the prime minister’s office.
“We are aiming to win this election and continue our work for a more sustainable future,” Marin told reporters at her final campaign event in Helsinki on Saturday.
But the latest survey published on Thursday by public broadcaster Yle showed the centre-right National Coalition holding a thin lead at 19.8 per cent, with the nationalist eurosceptic Finns Party in second place at 19.5 per cent.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) led by Marin, who took office in 2019 as the world’s youngest prime minister at age 34, was in third place with 18.7 per cent.
“We have had a great campaign. We have the best candidates all over Finland and we are first in the polls, so I’m optimistic,” National Coalition leader Petteri Orpo said at a campaign rally on Saturday.
— AFP
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