Finns go to the polls on Sunday in legislative elections widely expected to oust the country's left-right coalition amid growing discontent over a floundering economy undergoing a painful restructuring.
Conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who has headed the government since June when he replaced his predecessor Jyrki Katainen, has a dire report card to show Finns: a year of economic stagnation in 2014 after two years of recession.
"Many things need to change," Timo Soini, the head of the populist, eurosceptic Finns Party, currently in opposition, told AFP when asked what the economy needed.
The government, which came to power in 2011, is made up of four parties: Stubb's conservative National Coalition Party, the Social Democrats, the Swedish People's Party, and the Christian Democrats. Two other parties, the Greens and the Left Alliance, quit the government last year over policy disputes.
The head of the opposition Centre Party, Juha Sipilae, who is expected to be the next prime minister at the helm of another broad but as yet undefined coalition, has pledged a series of economic reforms to get Finland back on its feet.
They include easing up on bureaucracy, tax breaks for newly-created jobs and a reform of unemployment insurance.
Sipilae, an IT millionaire, has campaigned heavily on his experience as a businessman and entrepreneur.
"I have a lot of experience of how to manage companies to make big changes," he told Finnish public broadcaster YLE.
Finland was long a top performer in the eurozone, hailed by Germany and credit rating agencies for running a tight economic ship. But it has failed to adapt to a rapidly changing economic climate.
The two pillars of the country's economy, the forestry sector and technology industry led by one-time giant Nokia, have shrunk dramatically, while two of Finland's biggest trading partners, Russia and the eurozone, are slogging through their own economic woes.
And Finland has one of the world's most rapidly aging populations, that it doesn't yet know how to pay for.
- Highest unemployment since 2003 -
Most politicians in Finland -- with the exception of the Left Alliance and the Greens, agree that Finland needs to cut costs to improve its competitiveness, including reducing taxes and public spending, and curbing wage increases.
For the Finnish public, it's a bitter pill to swallow after three straight years of declining disposable income.
"For most citizens, the living standard hasn't gone down much, but on a general level the situation is bad. I don't think that the government has succeeded well with its austerity programme," said Johanna Rautio, a lawyer in her 40s.
"The economic situation is very difficult at the moment. Unemployment is a huge problem," said Jukka Ihanus, a 38-year-old union employee.
The trend unemployment rate is currently 9.2 percent, its highest level since 2003.
The Centre Party has vowed to create 200,000 new jobs over 10 years, but economists say it will be difficult to keep that promise, with no easy solution in sight.
According to Edward Hugh, a British economist known for his pessimistic eurozone forecasts, Finland must resolve an enigma that has eluded everyone so far: how to combine a dynamic economy with declining demographics.
"Deficit spending to make investments in future productivity improvements seems not to be a bad idea. Running deficits in order not to change, in contrast, would be," he wrote in March.
Among financial sector economists, who favour more free-market reforms such as reforms of social security, municipality structures and the provision of health services, pessimism also reigns.
"The task ahead is daunting," said Jan von Gerich of Nordea bank, lamenting that "unfortunately," none of the parties likely to form the next coalition are "prepared to do what it would take to really boost the outlook for the Finnish economy."
A poll published on Saturday in the Ilta-Lehti tabloid credited the Centre Party with 23.5 percent of voter support, ahead of the Social Democrats with 17 percent and the Finns Party with 16.6 percent.
Stubb's conservative National Coalition Party was credited with 16.2 percent.
Finns go to the polls on Sunday in legislative elections widely expected to oust the country’s left-right coalition amid growing discontent over a floundering economy undergoing a painful restructuring.
Conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who has headed the government since June when he replaced his predecessor Jyrki Katainen, has a dire report card to show Finns: a year of economic stagnation in 2014 after two years of recession.
“Many things need to change,” Timo Soini, the head of the populist, eurosceptic Finns Party, currently in opposition, told AFP when asked what the economy needed.
The government, which came to power in 2011, is made up of four parties: Stubb’s conservative National Coalition Party, the Social Democrats, the Swedish People’s Party, and the Christian Democrats. Two other parties, the Greens and the Left Alliance, quit the government last year over policy disputes.
The head of the opposition Centre Party, Juha Sipilae, who is expected to be the next prime minister at the helm of another broad but as yet undefined coalition, has pledged a series of economic reforms to get Finland back on its feet.
They include easing up on bureaucracy, tax breaks for newly-created jobs and a reform of unemployment insurance.
Sipilae, an IT millionaire, has campaigned heavily on his experience as a businessman and entrepreneur.
“I have a lot of experience of how to manage companies to make big changes,” he told Finnish public broadcaster YLE.
Finland was long a top performer in the eurozone, hailed by Germany and credit rating agencies for running a tight economic ship. But it has failed to adapt to a rapidly changing economic climate.
The two pillars of the country’s economy, the forestry sector and technology industry led by one-time giant Nokia, have shrunk dramatically, while two of Finland’s biggest trading partners, Russia and the eurozone, are slogging through their own economic woes.
And Finland has one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations, that it doesn’t yet know how to pay for.
– Highest unemployment since 2003 –
Most politicians in Finland — with the exception of the Left Alliance and the Greens, agree that Finland needs to cut costs to improve its competitiveness, including reducing taxes and public spending, and curbing wage increases.
For the Finnish public, it’s a bitter pill to swallow after three straight years of declining disposable income.
“For most citizens, the living standard hasn’t gone down much, but on a general level the situation is bad. I don’t think that the government has succeeded well with its austerity programme,” said Johanna Rautio, a lawyer in her 40s.
“The economic situation is very difficult at the moment. Unemployment is a huge problem,” said Jukka Ihanus, a 38-year-old union employee.
The trend unemployment rate is currently 9.2 percent, its highest level since 2003.
The Centre Party has vowed to create 200,000 new jobs over 10 years, but economists say it will be difficult to keep that promise, with no easy solution in sight.
According to Edward Hugh, a British economist known for his pessimistic eurozone forecasts, Finland must resolve an enigma that has eluded everyone so far: how to combine a dynamic economy with declining demographics.
“Deficit spending to make investments in future productivity improvements seems not to be a bad idea. Running deficits in order not to change, in contrast, would be,” he wrote in March.
Among financial sector economists, who favour more free-market reforms such as reforms of social security, municipality structures and the provision of health services, pessimism also reigns.
“The task ahead is daunting,” said Jan von Gerich of Nordea bank, lamenting that “unfortunately,” none of the parties likely to form the next coalition are “prepared to do what it would take to really boost the outlook for the Finnish economy.”
A poll published on Saturday in the Ilta-Lehti tabloid credited the Centre Party with 23.5 percent of voter support, ahead of the Social Democrats with 17 percent and the Finns Party with 16.6 percent.
Stubb’s conservative National Coalition Party was credited with 16.2 percent.
