Egypt joins Geneva negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty, calls for urgent agreement    Egypt delivers over 30 million health services through public hospitals in H1 2025    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Opposition center-right party wins Finland local elections, PM's party loses
Published in Ahram Online on 14 - 06 - 2021

An opposition center-right party came top in Sunday's local election in Finland, ahead of Prime Minister Sanna Marin's ruling Social Democratic Party in the first election for the popular young leader who took office 18 months ago.
With all votes counted in the Nordic nation's municipal election, initial results showed on Monday that the conservative National Coalition Party had taken 21.4 percent of votes nationwide, while the Social Democrats took 17.7 percent and centrist government member Center Party 14.9 percent respectively.
``This was a victory with sovereign performance for the National Coalition Party,'' political science researcher Emilia Palonen at the University of Helsinki told The Associated Press. ``National Coalition has traditionally been successful, above all, in urban areas. Now the party has got new seats on many councils in small towns run by the Center Party.''
The vote to renew local councils in Finland's more than 300 municipalities, with some 35,000 candidates running from the northern Lapland region to the autonomous territory of Aland Islands in the south, is viewed as a key indication of parties' popularity ahead of the country's 2023 parliamentary election.
The elections were the first for Marin as leader of both the government and her party.
She acknowledged that the result was a disappointment as support for the Social Democrats was 1.7 percentage points lower from the 2017 election, while the conservatives managed to increase their support by 0.7 percentage points.
``The result was not as good as I had expected,'' Marin told reporters late Sunday, adding that she was particularly disappointed with the low voter turnout of 55.1%.
The populist Finns Party saw its support rising 5.6 percentage points from the previous election, to 14.5% of all votes.
Marin, 35, enjoys high popularity in the nation of 5.5 million but the Social Democrats have struggled to attract voters, particularly younger ones, with their agenda.
The two opposition parties _ the conservatives and the populists _ were seen as the overall winners of the elections which were postponed by two months due to Finland's COVID-19 situation. All but one member in Marin's five-party, center-left coalition government ended up losing seats.
The main themes dominating the local election were the government's planned social and health care reforms in the municipalities, taxation and the implications of Finland's COVID-19 exit strategy.


Clic here to read the story from its source.