Helsinki: Sunday's legislative elections in Finland could result in a sharp turn to the right for the nation as right-of-center and anti-immigration parties compete to unseat Social Democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Finland may become the newest nation to join the nationalist wave in Europe following the nationalists' victory in Sweden's neighbor and the far-election right's victory in Italy last year.
The vote was made possible by Turkiye's approval of Finland's membership application on Thursday, which came just days before Finland's formal accession to the NATO defense alliance.
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According to polls, Finland's right-wing political trend is strengthening, Juho Rahkonen of the E2 research institute told AFP.
The largest of the eight major parties in parliament typically has the first opportunity to form a government, and since the 1990s, that party has consistently claimed the position of prime minister.
At the end of her campaign in Helsinki, Marin told reporters, "We are aiming to win this election and continue our work for a more sustainable future."
The center-right National Coalition held a slim lead in the most recent poll conducted by public broadcaster Yle, which was released on Thursday. The nationalist euroskeptic Finns Party came in second with 19.5 percent of the vote. Third place was held by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which is led by Marin, the youngest prime minister in history at the age of 34.
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Our campaign has been fantastic. I'm optimistic because we have the best candidates across Finland and we are leading in the polls, said Petteri Orpo, the leader of the National Coalition, to AFP at a rally on Saturday.
Polls show that Marin is Finland's most popular prime minister this century, but she is having trouble converting that support into SDP seats in the legislature. "Despite being incredibly popular, she also sparks opposition. The political rift has grown stronger, according to Rahkonen.
While some see her as a capable leader who skillfully handled the Covid-19 pandemic and the NATO application process, others see her inexperience as evidenced by the growing public debt under her watch and scandals involving partying video clips.
In order to reduce Finland's debt-to-GDP ratio, which has increased from 64 percent in 2019 to 73 percent, Orpo's National Coalition proposes spending cuts of six billion euros ($6.5 billion).
The National Coalition is being accused of wanting to "take from the poor to give to the rich," according to Marin, who has defended her record.
Riikka Purra, the leader of the far-right Finns Party, is expected to surpass her party's previous high mark, making a far-right prime minister the first of its kind in Finland.
Her anti-immigration party wants to take a tough stance, citing neighboring Sweden's issues with gang violence as a lesson learned. The rising rate of juvenile delinquency, she claimed to AFP on Saturday, is currently the biggest problem.
As a result of the "rise in energy prices and the general decline in purchasing power" that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Rahkonen said, support for the populist party has increased significantly since last summer.
The party participated in a center-right administration in 2015, but it later split into two groups: a hard-line faction and a moderate one, with only the hard-liners remaining in parliament.
The Finns Party wants to delay Finland's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035 because it sees an EU exit as its long-term objective. It's anticipated that the government-building talks will be difficult.
Orpo has stated he will keep his options open despite differences with the Finns Party over immigration, the EU, and climate policy. Marin has ruled out forming a government with the Finns Party, which she refers to as "openly racist."
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Due to the fact that both the Finns Party and the SDP would probably need him to win a majority, this gives him a crucial role in forming the next government. The results of the advance voting will be announced at 8:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), when voting stations close. Voting stations open at 9:00 am (0600 GMT). A little over 40% of voters have already cast their ballots.