HELSINKI: Finland's right-wing opposition National Coalition (NCP) party was on track to win Sunday's parliamentary elections in a bitter three-way battle, public broadcaster Yle predicted after 71 percent of the vote was counted.
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The KPK won 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, ahead of the Finnish Nationalist Party with 46 seats and Prime Minister Sanny Marin's Social Democrats with 43 seats, according to Yle's forecast.
"I think those are very heavy numbers on the screen...a strong mandate for our policies,” NCP leader Petteri Orpo told Yle after seeing the forecast.
The leader of the largest party in Parliament has his first chance to form a coalition to win a majority, what Marina's tenure as Prime Minister could be coming to an end. Marin, who became the world's youngest prime minister at 37 when she took office in 2019, is seen by fans around the world as a millennial role model for new progressive leaders, but has been criticized nationally for the party and her government's public spending.
The KPK leads polls have been at the polls for nearly two years, though her lead has narrowed in recent months in a bid to cut spending and curb growth in government debt, which has reached just over 70% of GDP since Marin took office in 2019.
Orpo accused Marin of undermining Finland's economic resilience at a time when Europe's energy crisis, sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine, has hit the country hard and the cost of living has soared.
Orpo said he would negotiate with all factions for a majority in parliament, while Marin said his Social Democrats could govern with the KPK but would not go into government with the Finn party.
Marin called the Finnish party "obviously racist"; during the January debate - a charge denied by a group of nationalists.
The main objective of the Party of Finland is to curb what leader Riikka Purra has described as "harmful" immigration from developing countries outside the European Union. He also calls for austerity to reduce deficit spending, which he shares with the NCP.