the far right enters the government after months of negotiations

The Prime Minister-designate, Petteri Orpo, at the head of the center-right coalition, announced Thursday evening that he had formed a coalition with the far-right formation which came second in the legislative elections.

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Conservative leader Petteri Orpo on April 27, 2023 in Helsinki (Finland).  (HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA / LEHTIKUVA / AFP)

He wants “bring order” in the country. Conservative leader Petteri Orpo announced Thursday, June 15, that he would govern Finland alongside the far right, after the April legislative elections. “I am proud of the good program and the result of the negotiations. All questions have been answered”, he told the press in Helsinki, in the presence of the leaders of the three other formations with which he will form a government.

Petteri Orpo, head of the centre-right National Coalition, has formed a government coalition with the Finns Party, the far-right party which came second in the legislative elections, as well as two other small right-wing parties. The four parties have 108 of the 200 seats in Parliament.

Differences on climate and immigration

The coalition talks, which usually last on average a month, have been longer due to differences especially on climate policy and immigration. “We had disagreements on some points and I’m sure we still have some, but what unites us is that we want to put Finland in order”, underlined the Prime Minister-designate. Petteri Orpo, whose main electoral promise was a savings plan of 6 billion euros, said he would unveil his program on Friday.

The right has already governed with the Party of Finns (ex-True Finns) between 2015 and 2017, the date of a split within the eurosceptic formation which had resulted in a harder line. The party reached a record score of 20.1% of the vote in the April 2 legislative elections.


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