As Finns head to the polls on Sunday, the outcome still remains far from clear
Published:
16 March 2003 y., Sunday
As Finns head to the polls on Sunday, the outcome still remains far from clear. A victory for the conservative opposition leader could see the Nordic country get its first female prime minister.
A day before the Finnish general election on Sunday, March 16, the two leading parties are still neck and neck. Recent surveys show that support for the ruling Social Democrats has dropped slightly in the last month, while the center-right opposition Center Party led by ex-lawyer Anneli Jäätteenmäki has gained a slim lead.
Since 1995, incumbent Social Democrat Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen has led a "rainbow" coalition, a cooperation between Social Democrats, the Conservative Party, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party. The Greens quit the coalition in May, 2002, after parliament voted to build a new nuclear power plant.
A committed European, Lipponen sees Finland's interests best represented within the European Union. He has embraced adoption of the euro, which he believes has helped move the country towards greater fiscal stability.
Šaltinis:
dw-world.de
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
For the last 15 years European citizens living in another European country have been able to vote in that country's local and European elections.
more »
Zimbabwe is suffering from cholera.
more »
Metropolitan Kirill will head the Russian Orthodox Church temporarily following the death of Patriarch Alexiy II on Friday.
more »
U.S President George W. Bush celebrates his final Christmas in office - the lighting of the National Christmas tree.
more »
Under new draft laws, people travelling by bus and ship would enjoy the same rights as those taking a plane or train, including the right to meals, hotel accommodation and alternative services if the trip is cancelled or interrupted.
more »
The importance of individual happiness, which can be achieved with the help of universal human values - whether religious or non-religious - was one major theme in an address by the 14th Dalai Lama to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
more »
Although the European Parliament is now much more powerful than when it was first directly elected in 1979, voter turnout for elections has declined steadily, reaching a new low in 2004.
more »
The free tours are run by Sandemans New Europe - set up in 2004 by Chris Sandeman, who chose tourism over his family's traditional sherry business.
more »
Eighteen months after it began work, Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change called for an 80% cut in greenhouse gases by 2050, binding interim targets to improve energy efficiency 20% by 2020 and incentives to encourage everyone to do their bit.
more »
Israeli experts are using good old mathematical models to give a face in a photo the ideal characteristics in just a few mouse clicks.
more »