General Elections in Finland: Social Democrats Declare Victory

HELSINKI, (Patria) – The leader of the center-left Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP) Antti Rinne has declared victory in the general elections in that country, agencies reported.

His party leads by a narrow margin of 17.7%, and the official result has not yet been announced, although 99.5% of votes have been counted.

Rinne will be the first left-wing prime minister since 2003, and the SDP will be the largest party in Finland since 1999.

Of the 19 parties that participated in the elections, the Eurosceptic party 'True Finns' is in second place with 17.5% of the votes won.

Forming a coalition will not be easy for Rinne, given the divisions in parliament. It is speculated that his task will also be complicated by the National Coalition Party (center-right) and the Centre Party.

At the same time, Rinne does not rule out the possibility of cooperation with the Finns Party as long as they can agree on values. 'The values of the Social Democratic Party are very important, they are like the glue that will hold the government together,' Rinne explained on Sunday.

Rinne's party can also enter into a coalition with the conservative National Coalition Party, which took third place with 38 seats.

One of the most significant issues arising from the elections is the future of the Finnish social welfare system, which is, incidentally, the pillar of the Nordic social model, writes Reuters. The left wants to preserve this system by increasing taxes, while the center-right wants to abolish it due to rising costs.

'True Finns' believe that a small country like Finland has gone too far in its campaign against climate change to its own detriment, and they also oppose immigration.

Brussels is closely watching the elections in Finland because a more significant result for the 'Finns' would encourage the nationalist bloc to make a move regarding EU legislation, writes Reuters.

Finland has a population of 5.5 million people, and almost a third of the population lives within the Arctic Circle, which suffers the most damage due to climate change and global warming.