Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin concedes election defeat

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on April 2, 2023, after her Social Democratic Party lost the parliamentary election to the opposition National Coalition Party (NCP). The NCP won 48 seats in the 200-seat parliament, narrowly edging out the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Marin's Social Democrats with 43 seats. Marin, 37, who became the world's youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, faced criticism domestically for her government's public spending despite international popularity. NCP leader Petteri Orpo will get the first chance to form a coalition government and has promised to curb spending and address Finland's rising public debt, which reached over 70% of GDP since Marin took office. The election outcome could impact Finland's NATO accession process, which Marin championed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.