Helsinki, April 18: The conservative National Coalition has scored a narrow victory in Finland’s parliamentary elections, marked by a stunning performance by the nationalist True Finns party.
According to a final tally on Sunday, the National Coalition Party managed to win the election to become the largest in parliament with 44 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Party, which captured 42 seats and secured second place, AFP reported.
The ruling Center Party performed poorly in the election, losing 16 seats in parliament to end up with only 35. The National Coalition Party Chairman and Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen is sure to take the office of outgoing Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi and form a new government with the Social Democrats and True Finns.
Even though the National Coalition Party was declared the winner of the polls, many observers believe the once tiny populist, anti-immigration and anti-EU True Finns, were the real winners of the race, because they proved they are a force to be reckoned with in the formation of the next coalition government.
The party won a hefty 39 seats, up from only six in the outgoing parliament, making it the only party to gain any seats in parliament and landing it in third place.
“Sometimes it pays to believe in what you stand for, even when you hit obstacles and get made fun of,” True Finns leader Timo Soini told his supporters.
“The True Finns now have a member of parliament in every single electoral district!” he added.
The 200-seat Finnish Parliament has been dominated by the Center Party, National Coalition Party and Social Democrats in past elections.
Approximately 4.4 million people were eligible to vote in the elections, and the turnout was estimated at about 70 percent — well above the 67.9 percent seen in the last elections in 2007.
The outcome of Sunday’s poll is expected to alter Finland’s previously exemplary relationship with EU partners and affect the EU’s plans to bail out Portugal as well as the stability in debt markets.
——–Agencies