Kiviniemi and Vanhanen are political allies, and members of the same party.
Kiviniemi said over the weekend that she intends to continue the policies of her predecessor, at least until parliamentary elections scheduled for next year. For his part, Vanhanen has said he expects to run for a seat in the parliament.
The daughter of a chicken farmer, Kiviniemi is an economist and career politician. She was first elected to the parliament in 1995. She has also been a member of the Helsinki City Council. From 2005 to 2006 she served as the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, and from 2007 to 2010 she has been the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government.
She will preside over a center-right coalition made up of her own Center Party, the National Coalition Party, the Green League, and the Swedish People’s Party.
As with most governments, Kiviniemi will be dealing with serious
economic challenges. Finland’s economy shrunk by 7.8 percent last year, and unemployment has risen to 9 percent, unheard-of numbers in this affluent country. And because Finland relies on exports to support it economy, slow growth is predicted over the next several years, since purchases are expected to remain low until the economy in other countries improves.