Finland has sworn in a new coalition government believed to be the most right-wing in the Nordic country’s modern history
From
JARI TANNER Associated Press
June 20, 2023 9:10 am ET
• 3 min reading
HELSINKI — Finland, which recently became NATO’s 31st member, on Tuesday sworn in a new coalition government believed to be the most right-wing in the Nordic country’s modern history.
President Sauli Niinistö appointed the 19-member cabinet of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, leader of the conservative National Coalition Party, after Finnish lawmakers approved the ministerial line-up.
The National Coalition Party won the most seats in the April 2 general election. After seven weeks of coalition negotiations, the party announced an agreement to form a government with three other parties, including the far-right, Eurosceptic Finns Party.
The coalition’s two junior partners are the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People’s Party of Finland. Due to the dominance of the two senior partner parties, Finnish media characterized Orpo’s government as “national conservative”.
The four parties have a majority of 108 seats in the 200-member parliament. Political analysts said the new cabinet is Finland’s most right-wing government since World War II.
The Finnish economy was the central theme of the April elections. During the election campaign, conservative candidates accused former Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s centre-left cabinet of excessive spending, which contributed to rising national debt and other economic woes.
Despite Marin’s personal popularity and high international profile, voters shifted their allegiance away from her Social Democratic Party and towards parties on the political right. The Social Democrats took third place in the election behind the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party.
Orpo, a 53-year-old veteran politician, is a former finance and interior minister and has led the NCP, Finland’s main conservative party, since 2016.
The party’s other key cabinet posts include Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, the NCP’s deputy leader.
Häkkänen’s post is particularly significant since Finland joined NATO in April. The country of 5.5 million people, which shares a long border with Russia, is in the process of integrating its military systems and infrastructure into the alliance.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland to abandon decades of military non-alignment and seek NATO membership alongside Sweden in May 2022. Under Marin’s leadership, Finland has been one of the most vocal and active European supporters of Ukraine in terms of military and civilian aid.
Häkkänen assured that the new government would not change Finland’s position towards Ukraine.
“Finland’s support for Ukraine will continue to be very strong. There will be no changes to this policy,” he told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the new cabinet’s first press conference.
The populist Finns Party, which pursues a predominantly nationalist and anti-immigrant agenda, received several key cabinet posts. Party leader Riikka Purra was appointed finance minister in the new government, and other party members were appointed heads of the Finnish interior and justice ministries.
While Finland’s strategy towards Ukraine may remain the same, the Orpo cabinet is expected to enact sweeping social and labor reforms and budget cuts over the next four years.
It aims to significantly reduce Finland’s national debt and has taken a tough stance on immigration, including tightening residency and citizenship requirements.