2023-06-16 17:26:05
After nearly two months of tumultuous negotiations, the extreme right is back in Finland. Leader Petteri Orpo, head of the National Coalition (center right), announced that he would rule the country alongside the Party of Finnsthe far-right formation, Thursday, June 15.
The new coalition, which has 108 of the 200 seats in parliament thanks to two other small right-wing parties, constitutes a new anti-immigration formation in power in Europe. Petteri Orpo, a man of conviction, austere and smooth in public opinion, is the new face.
“A traditional politician”
“Negotiator and man of compromise”, here is the general impression it gives to the population, analyzes Karina Jutila, director of the E2 research institute. “I don’t think anyone finds it very willful or difficult,” she adds about her.
Wide glasses, short hair, the leader’s style is very conventional. But the 50-year-old’s reasoned and pragmatic approach seems to have paid off in a country where exuberant politicians are often viewed with suspicion.
His decision to collaborate with the Finns Party (extreme right), now the country’s second political force, shocked some. Described as calm and affable by his peers, this native of the south-west of the country has not had many emulators during his career. “He is a bit anonymous, he has no charisma, relève Otto Syrja, a resident of Helsinki. He is simply a traditional politician. »
In the footsteps of his father
As a teenager, following in his father’s footsteps, Petteri Orpo got involved in politics and gradually rose through the ranks. Arrived at the head of the center-right party of the National Coalition in 2016, he already has a few lines on his CV. He held the positions of Minister of Finance, Interior and Agriculture.
The 50-year-old then commits some notable blunders, such as when he has to apologize for having criticized the “screams” of its predecessor Sanna Marin and another party leader during a debate, drawing accusations of sexism.
His apparent calm is sometimes an asset in heated discussions, but he is often cornered by more incisive speakers, even if he is used to burying opponents more flamboyant or better known abroad than him.
A lover of nature, fishing and hiking, he is married and the father of two children.
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