Finland's voters pick government

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin faced a battle to remain in power on Sunday in parliamentary elections, with early results too close to call.

The election was predicted to be a tight contest between the right-wing populists Finns Party, the conservative National Coalition Party, or NCP, and Marin's center-left Social Democratic Party, or SDP.

A final pre-election poll for the public broadcaster Yle, placed the NCP on 19.8 percent, the Finns Party on 19.5, and the SDP close behind on 18.7.

The economic downturn has been a major cause of concern for voters, with support for the Finns Party surging amid rising costs for energy and other goods.

Marin, 37, became the world's youngest prime minister four years ago, and has since become a role model for young female leaders, though not without courting controversy. Last year, photos and a video emerged of her drinking and dancing with friends and she was forced to apologize and take a drug test.

But criticism of the government's lavish public spending policies, particularly on pensions and education, has proved effective for opponents.

The NCP has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70 percent of GDP since Marin took office in 2019, noted Reuters news agency.

The Finns Party has campaigned on issues around immigration, with its leaders citing problems Sweden has faced with gang violence, the Agence France-Presse, or AFP, news service reported

"We do not want to go the way of Sweden. We are highlighting the effects of a harmful immigration policy," Finns Party leader Riikka Purra told AFP.

Marin has pushed, along with President Sauli Niinisto, for the country to make a policy U-turn by seeking membership of the NATO Western defense alliance amid security concerns prompted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

With that process now almost complete, Helsinki is expected to join NATO within days, and any new leader will oversee the early days of Finland's membership.

Coalition talks are likely to take place this week if the voting matches predictions, and Petteri Orpo's NCP has not ruled out a possible deal with Finns, reported The Guardian.