Finland will struggle to implement ambitious proposals

Subject

Finland's new government.

Significance

Over the next six months, Finland’s new five-party government will be fighting on two fronts: it seeks to increase government spending in areas such as welfare and climate change at home, and simultaneously use its six-month term in charge of the EU presidency to support ambitious international reforms related to climate change.

Impacts

• The government’s failure to deliver targets could bring the right-wing populist Finns Party to power in the next election.
• The implementation of 'sin taxes' could backfire, with studies suggesting that they hit the working class most in the immediate term.
• Selling company holdings to increase government revenue could create distrust between unions and the left-wing parties in government.