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Sanna Marin defeated by Finland’s conservatives in tight race

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In a closely contested three-way election, Finland’s conservative leader Petteri Orpo defeated the center-left of prime minister Sanna Marin.

“We got the biggest mandate,” said the leader of the National Coalition Party, after a dramatic night in which the result gradually swung away from Ms Marin’s Social Democrats. Prior to the center-left and the right-wing populist Finns Party, Mr. Orpo won 20.8% of the vote.

A record 20.1% went to the populists. Ms. Marin, who increased the number of seats for her party and received 19.9% of the vote, suffered a crushing defeat.

She continues to receive favourable ratings in polls and has won accolades for guiding Finland towards its impending membership in NATO and guiding it through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The center-left candidate conceded the contest shortly after the conservative candidate declared victory.

“Congratulations to the winner of the elections, congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken,” she told supporters.

The three parties had been almost evenly matched in the polls for weeks, but when the results poured in, it became impossible to predict. The National Coalition of Petteri Orpo won the most seats in parliament, according to a prediction from public broadcaster YLE.

By winning more regions than any other party in mainland Finland, the Finns highlighted their accomplishment. Riikka Purra received more votes than any other candidate, and commentators emphasised how her party engaged younger people by using social media platforms like TikTok.

Three other parties in the departing coalition, the Centre Party, Left Alliance, and Greens, also suffered significant setbacks.

Sanna Marin, who is now 37, entered politics in 2019 and quickly rose to the position of leader in the world. She oversaw a coalition of five female-led parties.

Notwithstanding her effective response to neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s economy and public debt dominated the election debate because all of the major parties supported Nato membership.

Many Finns see her as a polarising figure. She came under heavy scrutiny last year when a video emerged of her singing, dancing and drinking at a party. Supporters said the controversy was steeped in sexism and women across Finland and the world shared videos of themselves dancing in solidarity.

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Finland’s Sanna Marin says Europe would be in trouble without US

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According to Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Europe “is not strong enough” to resist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its own and has been forced to rely on US assistance. The head of the potential Nato member stated that Europe’s defences needed to be bolstered while on a visit to Australia.

She added, “I have to be brutally honest with you, Europe isn’t strong enough at the moment. Without the United States, “we would be in serious difficulty.” The majority of Ukraine’s military support comes from the US. According to a research briefing released by the UK’s House of Commons last month, it has invested $18.6 billion (€17.7 billion; £15.2 billion) in support since the conflict began in February.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the European Union is the second-largest donor, followed by the United Kingdom. However, the US’s contributions much outweigh theirs. Additionally, Ms. Marin argued that more needs to be done to strengthen European defences as military supplies from European nations to Ukraine are running low.

Ms. Marin stated: “The United States has contributed a lot of weaponry, a lot of money, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn’t strong enough yet” on Friday at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.

She continued by saying that Europe needed to “develop those capacities in terms of European defence, European defence industry, and making sure that we could handle in different sorts of situations.”

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, frequently criticised NATO members who do not spend enough on defence while in office. According to estimates, the US spent slightly over 3.7% of its GDP on defence in 2020, compared to an average of 1.77% for NATO members in Europe and Canada.

Prime Minister Marin continued by criticising recent initiatives by some European nations to improve their relations with Russia.

The UK said in June that its defence spending would reach 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

According to NATO, all members must pledge 2% in order to “guarantee the alliance’s military readiness.” Additionally, new proposals have been made for NATO countries to raise their defence spending to 3% of GDP.

Finland, which has a significant border with Russia, submitted an official application to join NATO in May. Accession protocols were signed in July, but all other members have not yet ratified them.

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Sanna Marin: Finland PM partying video causes backlash

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After being caught partying in a leaked video, Sanna Marin, the prime minister of Finland, is receiving criticism. She and her companions, who include Finnish celebrities, can be seen dancing and singing in the clip, which is said to have been stolen from social media.

Opposition parties have criticised her, and one leader has called on her to submit to a drug test. Ms. Marin, 36, denied using narcotics, claiming that all she did was drink wine and party “loudly.” Formerly the youngest head of state in the world (the honour is now held by President Gabriel Boric of Chile), Ms. Marin is known for her frequent appearances at music festivals and her love of partying.

She apologised for going out clubbing last year after being in close proximity to a Covid-19 case.

Ms. Marin was been referred to as the “coolest prime minister in the world” by the German news organisation Bild.

She acknowledged being filmed in a statement she made on the video on Thursday, but expressed disappointment that it had been made public.”I danced, sang, and partied – perfectly legal things. And I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen or known of others [using drugs],” she added.

Riikka Purra, the leader of the opposition party, demanded that Ms. Marin submit to a voluntary drug test since the prime minister was under “doubt.”

Additionally, Ms. Marin’s coalition partner MP Mikko Karna tweeted that it “would be wise” for her to “voluntarily submit to a drugs test.”

Ms. Marin expressed to reporters that she had “not used drugs” and had “no trouble passing tests,” indicating that she was receptive to the idea.

“I lead a busy life that includes my family, my job, and my free time with friends. The majority of people my age pretty much agree,” Ms. Marin added.

She added that she felt no need to change her behaviour. “I am going to be exactly the same person as I have been until now and I hope that it will be accepted,” the prime minister added.Since December 2019, Ms. Marin has been in power, and her party continues to back her.

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Finland’s Sanna Marin to become world’s youngest PM

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Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, is set to become the youngest Prime Minister of the world, after Ukraine’s Oleksiy Honcharuk, 35, and New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden, 39.

At present, the Finnish ‘PM to be’ is only 34 year old. Currently, she is the transport minister of the country.

The road towards her induction has been paved after Antti Rinne resigned from the post of the PM of Finland recently as one of the coalition partners of the centre-left coalition lost confidence in him for his inability to address a recent strike effectively.

The new alternative has been selected by the Social Democratic party itself. Interestingly, the nomination of a woman to the post of the PM of Finland makes the country a true women-led government. At present, all the five parties, which make the coalition, are led by women.


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