Finland headed to the polls on Sunday and ousted Prime Minister Sanna Marin from office in the country's parliamentary elections, denying her a second term as the head of government, The Associated Press reported.
Marin was looking to win re-election by keeping her liberal Social Democrats party in power. However, with 97.7 percent of the votes tallied, it was the conservative National Coalition party emerging victorious with 20.7 percent, AP reported. In second place was the far-right, nationalist Finns party with 20.1 percent, with the Social Democrats garnering 19.9 percent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The loss is a stunning fall from grace for Marin, a 37-year-old who is among the youngest world leaders. She was a well-liked but polarizing figure in Finland, with the country's Helsingin Sanomat newspaper publishing a December opinion poll that found 64 percent of respondents approved of her premiership. However, while a large portion of Finland saw Marin "as a strong leader who skillfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's NATO membership process, others say her partying scandals and youthful behavior make her unfit for office," France24 reported.
The election was neck-and-neck right up until the last vote was counted. A final poll cited by The Guardian, with a two percent margin of error, had the National Coalition at 19.8 percent, the Finns at 19.5, and the Social Democrats at 18.7.
However, even with the conservative victory, Reuters noted that "the election is likely to be followed by lengthy coalition talks."
The National Coalition will now help lead Finland through its first years as a NATO member, and with its victory symbolizing a drastic shift to the right in the liberal Nordic country.
Update April 2, 2023: This article has been updated with election results.
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Out of office: microretirement is trending in the workplaceThe explainer Long vacations are the new way to beat burnout
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points Proposed one-time levy would shore up education, Medicaid
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
