Can a new Prime Minister bring the rebound Finland needs?

Finland’s Prime Minister-elect Juha Sipilä has the difficult task of forming a new government, but he is determined to create a small, efficient coalition that can push through with quick reforms.

During Finland’s parliamentary elections last Sunday, most Finns voted for the right-of-center and somewhat agrarian Centre Party, whose success was long predicted by national polls. Juha Sipilä, the party chair and self-made IT millionaire, will be given the task of forming the next government.

Finland feeling vulnerable amid Russian provocations

Wedged hard against Russia’s northwestern border, peaceable Finland has long gone out of its way to avoid prodding the nuclear-armed bear next door.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave after a news conference at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Aug. 15, 2014. (IVAN SEKRETAREV/AFP/Getty Images)

But now the bear is provoking Finland, repeatedly guiding military planes into Finnish airspace and deploying submarines and helicopters to chase after Finnish research vessels in international waters.

Τhe emergence of the 'silver economy'. A business area with an enormous growth potential. Case Finland

Finland has one of the most rapidly ageing populations in Europe and the world. By 2030, Finland is projected to have 26% of its population over 65 years of age. This is a figure that the UK, for example, is not due to reach until 2051.[i]

Finland reveals the fine print of the loan to Greece

According to the Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen, “it was the Greeks who wanted to keep it secret”. However, the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court decided otherwise, and on May 14, the Government was forced to publish the terms of the contract it signed with Greece in 2012.

Reinvention of Europe Project Finland: from a model pupil into a troublemaker?

The 2011 general election was a watershed in Finnish politics. The vote was largely concerned with
Finland’s European responsibilities, being held just as the EU constructed its stability policy with the
Portugese loan package and the details of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) on the table. Although
the agenda was technical and narrow, revolving around bail-out packages and Finnish liabilities, this was
the first time that EU issues had dominated the national electoral agenda. This also led to the emergence of
the populist True Finns as a significant electoral force, upsetting the consensual atmosphere of Finnish
politics and introducing a strong Eurosceptic voice into a more polarised national debate. Since then the
True Finns have continued to enjoy electoral success at a local level. However it now seems that the 2011
elections were above all a warning to the other main parties that the turmoil in the Eurozone was now able
to interrupt the European consensus in Finnish politics under specific conditions, and turn a model pupil
into a temporary troublemaker.