The nationalist and populist Finns party has gained almost 20% support in pre-election polls, making it the second most popular party in the rankings, as per a new survey published by the Finnish Broadcasting Company on Thursday.
Recording 19.3% support, the party moved to second place in the rankings past the social democrats, which gathered 18.8% support. The liberal-conservative National Coalition Party (NCP) remained on top with 23%.
The Finns Party has managed to turn current problems such as electricity prices, inflation and rising youth and gang violence into increased backing, doubling in popularity since the 2019 elections. According to analysts, the recent poll results are significant because the new support seems to come mainly from women and those who did not vote previously.
In light of the new survey, analysts predict exceptional difficulties in forming the next government. One commentator went as far as describing the coming talks as ”hellish”.
If the current situation stands, the likelihood of a right-wing government increases. Even more so if the Finns Party would climb to the top and be the biggest party on election night. The possibility of Finland having a second female prime minister in a row, the Chair of Finns Party Riikka Purra, cannot be ruled out.
One option, although unlikely, could also be a minority government from which other Nordic countries have more experience than Finland. For historical reasons finding large majorities and consensus have been preferred in Finnish policies.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
