Finland’s center-right leader announces four-party coalition including anti-immigrant party

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The head of Finland’s center-right National Coalition Party announced an agreement Friday with three other parties for a governing coalition that includes an anti-immigration party, saying that the new NATO member country needs budget cuts and curbs on immigration. NCP leader Petteri Orpo is expected to become the Nordic nation’s next prime minister under the accord with the Finns Party, which came in second in April elections vowing to curb immigration, and with the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People’s Party of Finland. We have high interest rates, we have inflation, a debt crisis and the government’s debt situation, we have big challenges.” The future government should make “significant reforms” to social security and the labor market, and should cut the government budget by 6 billion euros by the end of its four-year term, he said. After weeks of sounding out all parties, Orpo said late Thursday that “we all realize that Finland is in a difficult situation, the economy and health care are in crisis, Russia’s war is ongoing, inflation and interest rates have increased.” Political analyst Juho Rahkonen said it seems that “we have a more right-wing government than perhaps ever before,” a contrast to outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s five-party center-left coalition.