The center-left Social Democrats, seeking to form the first left-wing government in two decades, have taken an early lead in Finland's general election. Polls also predict strong gains for the main far-right party.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ulander
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Some 4.5 million Finns headed to the polls Sunday to vote for representatives to the 200-seat Eduskunta parliament.
The ballot is expected to shake up the country's political landscape following a campaign dominated by debates over how to preserve the country's prized welfare system, the costs of combating climate change, and immigration.
What do the polls say?
The opposition center-left Social Democratic Party was expected to emerge top, with 18.9 percent support in early counts.
That outcome would give party leader Antti Rinne, a former finance minister, the task of finding coalition partners to form the first left-leaning government in two decades.
The conservative National Coalition Party, which is in the outgoing center-right governing coalition, was garnering 17.2 percent of the vote with 35.5 percent of ballots counted.
Prime Minister Juha Sipila's Center Party did worse than expected, initially looking set to clinch third place with15.4 percent.
The nationalist True Finns party, which had been tipped for third place, was on 15.1 percent at early counting.
EU watching
Finland is set to take over the rotating EU presidency on July 1. European capitals are watching the performance of the Finns Party, which saw its support surge in the run-up to the vote. Many observers expect similar euroskeptic and nationalist parties to make strong gains in next month's EU parliamentary elections.
Welfare: The Social Democrats and other parties criticized Sipila's outgoing center-right coalition for implementing welfare cuts in an attempt to reinvigorate the economy. Rinne advocated for increasing taxes and spending to preserve health and social benefits and a world-class education system.
Immigration: Only 6.6% of the population is foreign-born, the lowest rate in Western Europe. Until recently, immigration was only a minor election issue. However, the Finns Party has attracted voters from small towns and villages worried about the issue, especially following publicized incidents of alleged sexual assaults by migrants last year. Other party leaders have cautioned against anti-immigrant rhetoric and generalizations about migrants. Rinne supports moderate work-related immigration and taking in some asylum-seekers.
Climate change: Most parties support efforts to combat climate change, but they differed during the campaign on how far to go and at what cost. The Finns Party used the debate as a wedge issue to attract voters skeptical of the costs of further action.
10 reasons to visit Finland
A visit to Finland is not only worthwhile during the polar light season. That's one more reason to get to know this northern European country with its many lakes, forests - and moose.
Image: DW/B. Riegert
Northern Lights
Seeing the Aurora Borealis in a clear night sky can be an awe-inspiring experience. In Lapland in northern Finland, the Northern Lights appear on about 200 nights a year. Auroras, seen mainly at high latitudes, are produced when electrically-charged particles in the solar wind meet oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere.
Image: picture-alliance/robertharding/R. Moiola
Helsinki
Of course in 2017, the hundredth anniversary was celebrated in grand style in the capital Helsinki, especially on December 6, Finland's independence day. But a visit to this port city is also worthwhile because of its architecture and many restaurants and bars. Before independence in 1917, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy in the Russian Empire.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Goldmann
Saunas
Saunas are integral to Finland and the Finnish way of life. For centuries, Finns have been sweating, relaxing and discussing issues in these hot bathhouses - and the icy Finnish winters provide the perfect contrast. There are saunas everywhere in Finland. There's even one in the parliament in Helsinki.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Reboredo
Skerry coast
The Finnish coast in the southwest of the country is dotted with tens of thousands of rocky offshore islets, the skerries. The Kvarken Archipelago is part of the skerry coast and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Y. Pingfan
Design
Finland is world famous for design. Several renowned designers, such as Alvar und Aino Aalto, came from Finland. Design District Helsinki boasts countless shops featuring young creative artists' work, and in the Design Museum you'll find Finnish design classics from vases and tableware to furniture.
Image: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva/M. Tynkkynen
Moose
Some 100,000 moose live in Finland's huge forests, but you'll rarely run across these shy animals in the wild. If you want to see moose it's better to go to one of the parks or zoos in which they live. At Moose Manor near Jämsä in central Finland, you can stroke tame moose.
Image: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva/J. Nukari
National parks
To mark the 100th anniversary of independence, Finland's 40th national park was opened in 2017. Many wild animals including bears, lynx and eagles live in the parks. A rare subspecies of freshwater seal, the Saimaa ringed seal, lives in the national parks around Lake Saimaa.
Image: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva/I. Pekkarinen
Wodka
Finland has a venerable vodka-making tradition. Finnish vodka is usually made from barley, and the distillation process can take months. There are vodka varieties flavored with bilberries, Arctic raspberries or lingonberries.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. S. Gustafsson
Snow
There is certainly no lack of snow in Finland in the winter. If you enjoy skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or dogsledding, this is the place for you. Many husky breeders in Lapland have specialized in tourism and offer dogsled tours through the wilderness.
Image: picture-alliance/robertharding/L. Grier
Licorice
Almost all Finns love salmiakki, or salty licorice. Traditional salty licorice comes in both hard and soft varieties, but you can also find new types of this typically Finnish specialty - for instance, with chocolate.
