Finnish National Polls Set to Be a Close Call

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.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Sakharov Prize 2010 - 9 nominations

Nine nominations for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought have been tabled by EP political groups or groups of over 40 MEPs. more »

European Mobility Week 2010 urges you to leave the car at home and walk or cycle to work

As the primary source of daily noise, pollution and congestion, car traffic relentlessly erodes our health and quality of life. more »

Warming Arctic brings opportunities and threats

The European Parliament hosted the 9th Conference of Parliamentarians from the Arctic region from 13-15 September in Brussels. more »

Moving forward with European Mobility Week

Get on your (electric) bike! That's the message of some cycling groups who are currently holding an exhibition of electric bikes outside the European Parliament. more »

Newborn found on Philippine-bound plane

Philippine officials search for the mother of a baby, found dumped in a rubbish bin on board a Manila-bound Gulf Air plane. more »

Bangladesh prepares for Eid

Millions of Muslims in Bangladesh prepare to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan. more »

EU revises laws to better protect animals used in scientific experiments

The European Parliament has voted to revise legislation on animals used for scientific purposes. more »

A dog’s life for daschunds in Poland

Sausage dogs take to the streets of Cracow in medieval fancy dress to celebrate the 600th anniversary of 'The Battle of Grunwald'. more »

Older women: Parliament calls for positive discrimination

EU Member States should take positive discrimination measures to improve the lives of older women, including paid leave for carers, says Parliament in a resolution voted on Tuesday. more »

Thousands attend al-Aqsa prayers

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gather at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque to celebrate 'Laylat al-Qadr' - one of the holiest nights of Ramadan. more »