| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 18.3.03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 18/03/2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Finnish opposition Centre party, led by Anneli Jäätteenmaki, claimed victory in the country's parliamentary elections on 16 March 2003 after narrowly beating the Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, which has been in power since 1995. The result paves the way for Finland to become the first EU country with an all female leadership, since Ms Jäätteenmaki is set to become the first Finnish female Prime Minister and Tarja Halonen already serves as President, after her election in 2000. Only 6,300 votes separated the two leading parties, after the Centre Party gained 24.8% of the votes compared to the Social Democrats with 24.55%. The Centre Party will have 55 seats in the new parliament - an increase of seven from 1999 - whilst the Social Democrats secured 53 seats, up two from 1999. The National Coalition Party suffered the biggest losses on the night, falling from 46 seats in 1999 to 40 in the new parliament. Almost seventy per cent of the population turned out to vote with more than 2,000 candidates, representing 18 parties, vying for the 200 seats in parliament. The main election issue concerned the revival of the Nordic country's economy, which has one of the highest unemployment levels in the EU, and in recent weeks the parties' positions on Iraq also began to play a role. The Centre Party claimed that the SDP government could be doing more to help find a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. On the domestic front, Ms Jäätteenmaki's party also criticised the ruling government for not spending enough of the public purse on health, education and improving the lives of others even though the ruling coalition has reduced taxes and fostered strong economic growth. Without an outright majority, the Centre Party will now need to form a coalition. The most likely option, according to analysts, is a conservative bloc made up of the Centre Party, the National Coalition Party, the Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats. Such a coalition would have 110 seats of the 200 available in parliament. But it is also possible that the Centre Party could form a right-left coalition with the Social Democrats. Commentators have suggested that a Centre Party led government would spend more on welfare but that there are unlikely to be drastic changes in economic and foreign policies, although the Centre Party is less EU friendly than the current government.
Helen Bower Compiled: Tuesday, 18 March 2003 Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Countries / Regions | Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
