Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin is facing a tough fight to retain her position, with her party trailing behind its two main rivals in the general election on Sunday. Despite rising inflation and an impending recession, Marin has remained popular among young female leaders and critics.
According to the final poll before voting day, Marin's party was on 19.8%, and although her approval rating was higher among women, her party still lagged behind other leaders. In December last year, a survey by Helsingin Sanomat found that 64% of respondents felt that she had done a "very" or "fairly" good job as prime minister.
However, this campaign has been dominated by issues such as the economy and cost-of-living crisis. Claims of fiscal irresponsibility leveled against Marin have hit home with voters who are calling for deep cuts to restore state finances.
The far-right Finns Party is campaigning on cutting immigration from non-EU developing countries, postponing carbon neutrality past 2035, cutting taxes rather than spending more on education and public health services.
Coalition talks are expected to be long and tortuous with several parties ruling out options – especially the Finns Party. The leaked video of Marin partying with friends has also caused some voters to question her leadership skills.
The election comes just days after Finland ratified Turkey's membership in the Western military alliance amidst growing frustration over Russia's invasion leading to rising costs of living in Finland.
Marin leads a centre-left coalition comprising Social Democrats, Centre Party, Greens, Left Alliance and Swedish People’s Party of Finland. Her Social Democratic Party is expected to be replaced by the anti-immigration far-right party following Sunday’s election results.