From left, Swedish People's Party chair Anna-Maja Henriksson, National Coalition Party chair Petteri Orpo, The Finns Party chair Riikka Purra and Christian Democrats chair Sari Essayah announced on Thursday that the government programme is ready in Helsinki, Finland, June 15, 2023. Finland's conservative National Coalition Party, which came second in the April 2 elections, will present a government program for a center-right coalition that includes a far-right anti-immigration party with savings measures on Friday. The NCP leader Petteri Orpo, who is expected to become the next prime minister of Norway, said on Friday that four parties had agreed to form a government. Following lengthy talks over seven weeks, the NCP said Friday it had reached a deal with three other parties for a governing coalition that includes the far-right, eurosceptic Finns Party, which runs largely on a nationalist and anti-immigration agenda.
A total of 19 ministerial posts will be created in the new cabinet, including the prime minister-designate and NCP leader Petteri Orpo. He is a former finance and interior minister and has been leading the NCP since 2016, Finland's main conservative party.
In total, the NCP will have eight ministerial portfolios.
The party's vice chair, Elina Valtonen, who is also the vice chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, is set to become a foreign minister.
She will be Finland s second female top diplomat after Tarja Halonen, who served in the late 1990s before being elected as Finland s first female president in 2000.
NCP will also get the key defense portfolio held by NCP vice chair Antti H KK nen, also NCP vice chair. His defense minister post carries a significant weight as Finland became NATO's 31st member in April, and the nation of 5.5 million is in the process of integrating its military systems into the alliance.
Under the deal, the populist Finns Party, runner-up in the parliamentary election, is to get seven ministerial posts including the important finance portfolio, which is held by party leader Riikka Purra and the interior and justice portfolios.
The new government's two junior partners - the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People's Party of Finland - will share the rest of the cabinet posts.
The four parties will hold a comfortably majority of 108 seats in the 200-strong Finnish parliament, Eduskunta.
Political analysts have described Finland's most right-wing government since World War II as the most liberal and influential government in the world. Under a government program unveiled on Friday, Orpo's Cabinet is expected to carry out major social policy and labor reforms and budget cuts in the next four years.
It aims to significantly reduce Finland's government debt and is taking a tough immigration policy including tightening requirements for receiving Finnish citizenship.
Sauli Niinist is expected to appoint Orpo and his Cabinet by Wednesday after a confidence vote on the prime minister-designate by lawmakers.