Finland’s parliament endorses Petteri Orpo as prime minister, replacing Sanna Marin

HELSINKI, June 20 (Reuters) – Finland’s newly elected parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo to become prime minister, as expected, ushering in a right-wing government and putting an end to the government of the social democrat Sanna Marin.

Orpo will lead a coalition of the conservative NCP, Finnish nationalists, the minority-language Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats, who together won a majority of parliamentary seats in elections on April 2.

The new finance minister will be Riikka Purra, leader of the eurosceptic Finnish Party, while NCP deputy president Elina Valtonen will become foreign minister when the government takes office later on Tuesday.

“I warmly thank you for the trust you have shown me,” Orpo told parliament shortly after the vote.

A self-proclaimed fiscal conservative, orpo campaigned on the promise to reduce the government’s budget deficit by cutting spending while cutting taxes and seeking to boost job creation in the private sector.

The new coalition also changes immigration policy. On the rightwith the aim of lowering refugee quotas, raising the level of work-based visas and making it more difficult for foreigners to obtain citizenship, key priorities for the Finnish Party.

Reporting by Essi Lehto, Editing by Terje Solsvik

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