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Finland’s conservative National Coalition party, winner of the general election in April, revealed Sunday its picks for key ministerial posts in the next government that observers say will be the most right-wing in the history of the modern northern country.
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After protracted talks over seven weeks, the NCP announced on Friday an agreement with three other parties to form a ruling coalition that includes the far-right, Eurosceptic Finns party, which operates largely on a nationalist and anti-immigration agenda.
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There will be a total of 19 cabinet positions in the new government, including the designated prime minister and NCP leader Petteri Urbu. The 53-year-old veteran politician is a former finance and interior minister among other positions, and has headed the National Congress Party, Finland’s main conservative party, since 2016.
The National Congress Party is set to get eight ministerial portfolios in total.
Party deputy chair Elina Valtonen, who also serves as deputy chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, is set to become foreign minister.
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The 41-year-old would be Finland’s second most senior diplomat after Tarja Halonen, who served in the late 1990s before being elected as Finland’s first female president in 2000.
The NCP will also have the main defense portfolio which will be held by Antti Häkkänen, who is also the vice chair of the NCP. His defense minister post carries significant weight as Finland became the 31st member of NATO in April and the country of 5.5 million people is working to integrate its military systems into the alliance.
Under the agreement, the populist Finns Party – which finished second in the parliamentary elections – is set to receive seven ministerial positions, including the important finance portfolio, which will be held by party leader Rikka Pera, and the interior and justice ministries.
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The two junior partners in the new government – the Christian Democrats and the Swedish-Finnish People’s Party – will share the rest of the ministerial positions.
The four parties will hold a comfortable majority of 108 seats in Finland’s 200-member legislature, Iduskunta.
Political analysts have described the new cabinet as the most right-wing government in Finland since World War II. Under a government program unveiled on Friday, Orbo’s government is set to implement major social and labor policy reforms, and budget cuts in the next four years.
It seeks to significantly reduce the Finnish government’s debt and takes a tough stance on immigration, including tightening requirements for obtaining Finnish citizenship.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto Urbu and his cabinet are expected to be appointed by Wednesday after a vote of confidence in the prime minister-appointed by lawmakers.
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