Finland: Domestic politics and the Orpo Government since 2023

Finnish politics has been marked by a degree of political change in recent years with multi-party coalitions being formed. This relates to the emergence of new political parties.

Changes in the party system

Post-war politics in Finland was traditionally dominated by the liberal centrist Centre Party (KESK) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but the SDP has suffered a declining vote share in recent decades while the centre-right National Coalition Party (NCP) has played a more prominent role. The right-wing populist Finns Party (PS) has also increased its vote share in recent elections.

2023 parliamentary election

At the most recent parliamentary elections in April 2023, the NCP was the leading party with 20.8%, followed by the PS with 20.1%. The SDP, which led the outgoing governing, came third with 19.9% of the vote, also increasing its vote share. However, the Greens and the Left Alliance, which had increased their vote share in previous elections and formed part of the outgoing centre-left coalition, suffered losses.

Following the election, the NCP and PS, together with the smaller Christian Democrats party, formed a new coalition government, with Antti Petteri Orpo of the NCP becoming Prime Minister. Alexander Stubb, also of the NCP, was elected President of Finland at the 2024 presidential election.

Orpo government since 2023

The Government was initially beset by coverage of racist comments by PS Ministers. The Government set out a plan to combat racism and antisemitism in August 2023.

Since 2023, the Government has sought to reform the labour market, leading to industrial unrest. It has also tightened immigration rules, increasing conditions for applying for permanent residence and citizenship. In late 2023, it briefly closed the border with Russia, claiming that Russia had ushered migrants towards the border as a hybrid attack against Finland. Parliament subsequently adopted legislation allowing Finnish border guards to turn away third-country nationals attempting to enter from Russia.

In 2025, the Finnish parliament adopted changes to eligibility rules for voting for the autonomous Sámi Parliament and Prime Minister Orpo said that Finland should issue a formal state apology over discrimination towards the Sámi people.

New security outlook

This briefing focuses on domestic policy. Further information on Finland’s foreign policy and new security outlook since 2022, including its accession to NATO, is set out in a separate Commons Library research briefing, Finland: New security outlook