Formal talks to form govt begin

The Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP), Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), Suomenruotsalainenkansanpuolue (Swedish People’s Party of Finland-RKP) and the SuomenKristillisdemokraatit (Christian Democrats of Finland-CD) on Tuesday started the formal negotiation talks at the House of the Estates with the view to form a new government under the leadership of Kokoomus Chair Petteri Orpo.

The talks began with an opening seminar, where the parliamentary groups and the secretariats of the parties discussed the state of affairs in Finland from the point of view of various sectors in society in order to find a common vision, said a government press release.

The seminar included presentations by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Juha Majanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn, Chief of Defence Timo Kivinen, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Institute Petteri Taalas, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture Anita Lehikoinen, Ambassador of Finland to the European Union Markku Keinänen and Chairperson of the Technology Advisory Board Risto Siilasmaa.

The seminar also featured a discussion between Ombudsman for Older Persons Päivi Topo and Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen.

The four political parties in their talks will negotiate on a new government programme, which will set the policies of the next government and guide its work over the government term.

The parties will also agree on the number of ministers and on the distribution of ministerial portfolios and division of duties among the parties.

The government formation talks will continue on Wednesday, which will be the first day of the actual negotiations. The first week of talks will continue until Friday.

Earlier on April 27, Kokoomus Chairman Petteri Orpo announced that his party decided to hold official discussions with the radical right political party Perussuomalaiset RKP) and the CD.