Finland Boots Social Democrats Out of Office, Votes Two Conservative Parties Into Power

Finland went viral a year or so ago when their hot PM, a Social Democrat (basically a socialist), was seen dancing and drinking in videos.

But #TrendingonTikTok wasn't enough of an accomplishment to keep her in office, Finish voters decided.

They voted two conservative parties into the top two positions in the parliamentary vote. One, the establishment conservative party. Two, the populist conservative party.

Finland is set to have a change in leadership after a federal election saw Social Democrat leader Sanna Marin edged out by the right-of-center National Coalition Party, according to the Associated Press.

Just days after Finland was approved to enter NATO, the April 2, 2023, election saw the NCP win 20.8% of the vote (48 seats), the most of any party in an election with over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties.

The right-wing populist Finns Party took in the second-most votes with 20.1% (46 seats), and the now-former prime minister's Social Democrats came in third place with 19.9% (43 seats).

The NCP won largely on economic promises, vowing to "fix Finland." The country's rising state debt reportedly was a predominant issue for voters, along with inflation.

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Univeristy of Helsinki Professor Juhana Aunesluoma told the Associated Press that about two-thirds of voters chose right-wing parties, while about one-third went to the left. It was "a big swing from left to right," he said in an interview.

As mentioned in that article, Finland joins NATO today as well.

Finland has officially become a member of NATO after concerns over Russia's aggression.

The Kremlin has said it could be forced to take "counter measures" to ensure its own border's security in response.

Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, setting aside years of military nonalignment to seek protection under the organisation's security umbrella after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia, so its entry will more than double the size of NATO's border with the nation.

posted by Ace at 05:10 PM

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