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Finnish politics could see a dramatic shift to the far right in elections on Sunday as an anti-immigration party aims to replace “rock star” Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats.
The mother-of-one, who took office in 2019 as the world’s youngest prime minister at age 34, is Finland’s most popular prime minister this century, polls show. But the latest polls on Thursday put her centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) in third place, behind the anti-immigration and nationalist Finns Party and the centre-right National Coalition, which held on to a thin lead.
“It is a very exciting situation and it’s hard to say at the moment which party will be the biggest on election day,” Tuomo Turja of the polling firm Taloustutkimus told AFP.
A top spot for the far-right Finns Party, and a far-right prime minister, would be a first in Finland — though the party has previously served in government. It currently looks set to top its record 19 percent from the 2011 election.
Traditionally, the biggest of the eight main parties in parliament claims the top post and tries to build a government. Marin leads a centre-left coalition of Social Democrats, the Centre, the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party of Finland.
While some view her as a strong leader who skilfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s NATO membership process, others say her partying scandals and youthful behaviour make her unfit for office.
“Sanna Marin is a polarising character. She has fans like a rock star, but on the other hand, she has a lot of people who can’t stand her,” Marko Junkkari, a journalist at daily Helsingin Sanomat, told AFP.
Populist surge
The leader of the opposition conservative National Coalition, Petteri Orpo, has focused his campaign on the economy, accusing the government of irresponsibly…
