On Sunday, 2 April, Finland elected a new parliament – and three of the five governing parties suffered heavy losses. Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats gained ground, but only came third behind the liberal-conservative National Coalition Party and the right-wing Basis Finns. The country is thus on the verge of a change of government. However, difficult coalition negotiations are on the horizon.
In his brief analysis for the IEP's EU Election Monitor, Dr Manuel Müller paints a picture of an election campaign dominated by domestic issues such as the sharp rise in national debt. Foreign and European policy issues, on the other hand, did not play a major role. He classifies the election results and shows the obstacles to the formation of possible coalitions for the next legislative period. Finally, he analyses what political and personnel implications a new government in Helsinki could have for the European Union.
The whole analysis is available here:
