On Sunday, Finns will vote in a parliamentary election that has sparked significant infighting and could cost Prime Minister Sunny Marin the job..

First of all, voters are worried about generous public spending during the economic downturn.

With neither party expected to win an outright majority, the election is likely to be followed by protracted coalition talks, whichever party wins on Sunday.

37-year-old Sanna Marin is regarded by fans around the world as a model for the progressive new leaders of the millennium, she remains very popular among many Finns, especially among young people.. However, she is antagonized by some conservatives because of her lavish spending on pensions and education, which they see as irresponsible..

“The right is offering an alternative that will make life worse for all of us, in particular cutting services and livelihoods for the poorest.. We have the opportunity to choose the best alternative,"

Opinion polls show the Social Democrats, the largest party in the ending coalition government, are in a bitter fight with the right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) and the nationalist Finns Party, with all three getting roughly the same number of votes.. According to the latest sociological measurements, the centre-right NCP receives 19.8%, followed by the Finns with 19.5% and the SDP with 18.7%.

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A party's primacy in elections does not necessarily mean that its representative will become the next prime minister, but it usually gives the party a head start in forming a government.. If Marin's SDP remains in second or third place, one of her opponents, Petter Orpo of the NCP or Riika Purra of the Finns, will get that right..

Marin, for her part, has already stated that the SDP will not cooperate with such an "

The National Coalition led the polls for almost two years, but in recent months, its advantage has melted. Its leaders vow to curb spending and stop the rise in public debt, which has risen to just over 70% of GDP since Marin took office in 2019..

A political force blames Marin for undermining Finland's economic resilience at a time when the country has been hit hard by the energy crisis in Europe caused by Russia's war in Ukraine and the cost of living has risen.

“We can’t take on debt for the next 30 years,” says 73-year-old Martti Haikio, professor of history. “This has been going on for 30 years: more debt, debt, debt. and quality services. Services are good, but not on borrowed money”.

The Finns Party also calls for austerity, but its main goal is to reduce what its leader Rika Purra called "

Marin's Social Democrats believe that economic growth will help contain the growth of public debt, and that tax increases rather than spending cuts should be considered to balance the treasury..

However, debt growth is not inevitable.. The economy of Finland, a country of 5.5 million people, weathered the pandemic better than most European economies, although growth slowed to 1.9% last year and the country is expected to enter a mild recession this year.

Voters generally give high marks to Marin and her government after she has led Finland through several crises: in a December poll by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, 64% of Finns said that Marin did the job of prime minister “excellently” or “fairly well”.

She has earned praise both at home and abroad for her scathing comments on Russian aggression in Ukraine.. Last October in Prague, when asked about a potential way out of the conflict for Russia, Marin replied that the way out of the conflict was for Russia to leave Ukraine..

Marin's most notable foreign policy move was the country's shift in favor of NATO membership due to security concerns caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine..

Now this process is almost completed and it is expected that Helsinki will join the Alliance within a few days..

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However, in a campaign dominated by domestic issues—public spending, fiscal policy, and education—crisis management and Marin’s performances on the European stage have received less attention..

Voting starts at 9:00 am and ends at 20:00. Preliminary results will be published shortly after completion.

About 1.7 million, or 40.

5% of eligible voters, have already cast their ballots during the week-long early voting period that ended Tuesday, according to the Justice Department..

Sanna Marin took office in 2019 when her predecessor, Antti Rinne, resigned after failing to handle a mail strike, making her the world's youngest prime minister..

The prime minister visited Ukraine several times. The last time Sanna Marin visited Ukraine was March 10. She took part in a memorial service for the youngest Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsyubail, known by the call sign "