In Finland’s municipal and regional elections, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) emerged as the strongest party, increasing its vote share compared to the 2021 municipal contest.
The right-wing Finns party lost half of its votes in the April 13 ballot.
With a turnout of just 54.2 per cent and a focus on the Conservative government’s austerity policies, the SDP took 23 per cent of the vote.
“It’s been 20 years, but now it’s there! We have made a historic rise,” its chairman Antti Lindtman said in his speech to party members.
It was the first time in more 20 years the SDP had won municipal elections, taking cities such as Vantaa, Turku and Tampere.
”The result is something that I wouldn’t have dared to dream of,” said Lindtman. “If the result sticks, a rise of 5.5 per cent for the SDP is historic.”
Over the past two years, the centre-right national government has worked on fixing the national budget, introducing spending cuts and tax increases worth €9 billion.
This is considered to have pushed the vote to the left-wing opposition, while the right-wing Finns Party suffered most damage. It dropped from 14.5 per cent to just 7.6 per cent, becoming the sixth-largest party in the country.
Most opposition parties made progress. According to the Europe Elects X post on April 14, the Liberal Centre Party (Kesk) won 19 per cent , the Left Alliance (VAS) 9 per cent, while the Greens (Vihr) remained more or less stable on 9 per cent.
The centre-right National Coalition Party (KOK) came in second with just over 20 per cent of the votes, a small increase compared to 2021. The party was able to retain capital Helsinki and also won in the city of Espoo.
Painful cuts were made by the Social Affairs and Health department headed by Finns Party minister Kaisa Juuso, just ahead of the elections, reducing spending on child welfare and care for the elderly.
The chairwoman of the Finns Party, Riikka Purra, said of the vote results that Finland “had an unprecedented red transition”.
“The opposition succeeded excellently in harnessing discontent without an alternative and in alleging that the government is to blame for the economic downturn,” Purra added.
While the KOK had reasonable results, being surpassed by the SDP was seen as a loss. The party had been the largest in six consecutive elections.
“We promised the Finns that we would fix Finland, even though it would take a lot. That is the work we have done, and despite the fact that we have been criticised for it, our support will endure,” its President Petteri Orpo told party members.
Finland, regional election:
100.0% counted, preliminary final result
SDP-S&D: 23% (+4)
Kok.-EPP: 20% (−2)
Kesk.-RE: 19%
Vas.-LEFT: 9% (+1)
Vihr.-G/EFA: 9% (+2)
PS-ECR: 8% (−3)
SFP-RE: 5%
KD-EPP: 5% (+1)
Liik.~NI: 1% (−2)+/− vs. 2022 election result… pic.twitter.com/zodV0CeQ7C
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) April 14, 2025
