Sanna Marin defeated by Finland’s conservatives in tight race
Petteri Orpo, the leader of the National Coalition Party, has won the Finnish election after a tight race against the Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Orpo secured 20.8% of the vote, while the right-wing populist Finns Party came in second with a record 20.1% of the vote. Marin secured 19.9% of the vote and increased her party’s seats, but conceded the election shortly after Orpo claimed victory.
All three of the other parties in the outgoing coalition – the Centre Party, Left Alliance and Greens – suffered major losses.
The election was largely fought on Finland’s economy and public debt, with all the mainstream parties backing NATO membership. Orpo will now seek to form a government with either the Finns Party or the Social Democrats. He will need to secure more than 100 seats in the 200-seat parliament to run the country.
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