Just days before Finland
is set to become NATO's
newest member,
the government in Helsinki
is headed for a change.
Results in Finland's
parliamentary elections
indicate prime ministers
on a marathon Center-Left Party will lose
and she will be out of office.
She conceded defeat to the opposition
right wing National Coalition Party
its leader
Patriot, or
ran on a pro-business platform
and has vowed to cut spending
but his party will have
to form a coalition with other parties
to govern.
Let's bring you more now on this.
I want to turn to Steven Erlanger.
He's the chief diplomat
a correspondent for The New York Times,
and joins us now from Brussels via Skype.
So good to see you.
What led to the political downfall of MS.
Marin?
Well, she
is still very popular in Finland,
but her Center-Left Party
was increasingly less popular.
She was always more popular
than her party
and has been going on in nearby
Sweden also
where the last election saw
a swing to the right.
That happened in Finland
to the Finns or kind of famously
tight fisted.
And the biggest criticism of her
that mattered
domestically had nothing to do
with Ukraine.
Or Nadeau,
in which she was considered
to have done a good job or even covered
but the size of the government debt.
Now, in regular European terms,
Finnish debt is only about 70% of GDP.
It's not bad at all.
But for the Finns,
it seemed much too much.
So they have gone for
a Center-Right party very narrowly.
It should be
said that promises
to rein in public spending
And that is really the problem.
Son of a Marine during her campaign
just very aggressively
said that
the problem in Finland
was not enough growth
but refused to talk about budget cuts.
So so this in the end cut against her.
But she does remain quite popular,
even if she's somewhat controversial
as well.
A fresh face, a new generation,
a woman who enjoys her private life
There's had a
controversy
in relatively conservative Finland,
but I don't think was a very key issue
in her loss.
Well, now the hard part starts there.
Arguably,
a coalition will have to be formed.
Could we see MS.
Marin make a comeback or
or play a role
in forming a new government?
I think very much so.
I mean, it's a 200 seat parliament
and and the highest party got 48 seats.
So it's going to have to be a coalition.
It's likely to be at least three parties.
The sudden ruins problem is that her left
allies won't work
with the National Coalition Party.
The big question for them is do they
go to the populist
harder right
Finns party, which came in second
and build a coalition around that?
Or will they go more toward
the Social Democrats who came in a narrow
third and build a coalition around them?
And if they do that,
then it's possible, son,
a Marine would have another
ministerial office.
She could be for a minister.
She she could be something else.
I'm not sure that interests her
right now.
One of the great questions in Finland is
what comes next for the son of a Marine?
And I think also the
rest of
the world
will be keenly watching her next move.
Finland, as you know, is about to join.
NATO has a decision
to join NATO's played.
Any role in these elections?
I understand.
I mean, it didn't even play a role.
It wasn't contentious at all.
Did that surprise you?
Not exactly.
I mean,
because foreign policy in Finland
is basically run by the president.
It's a very powerful presidency.
Solidness, though,
and he's
the most popular politician
in In Finland,
he was the one who kind of
really guided
Finland and Sweden to toward NATO's.
Now
Basically, all parties went along.
Some on the left still didn't like it.
But as you say, it was not at that point
any longer.
A controversial issue.
And by the time the election happened,
it was all done.
I mean, all that remains
for Finland
to get in
NATO's exchange of a few letters.
So it really is a done deal.
A done deal.
Steven Erlanger,
thank you so much for providing us
with your insights greatly.
Appreciate it.