Finland: The country’s public debt, the main topic
Appreciated as one of Europe’s leading democracies, Finland has managed to make headlines in the international press several times recently. It all started with NATO membership, continuing with firm and unwavering support for Ukraine.
Moreover, the accession to NATO was a real surprise, given the attachment to the neutrality of Finnish society, imposed by the USSR after the Second World War, a fact that allowed survival as a democracy. This is where the famous term “Finlandization” appears, interpreted not only as neutrality, but also as a policy of strengthening relations with the USSR/Russia and avoiding criticism of the Kremlin.
So, the decision of May 2022, to join NATO, together with Sweden, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, represented a historic first. The government, led by the youngest prime minister in the history of the country, Sanna Marin, ticked off an important achievement, after years of pandemic, economic and security crisis, starting in 2019.
“With the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the threshold for the use of military force in the Baltic Sea region will increase, which will increase the long-term stability of the region. NATO is a stabilizing actor in the Baltic Sea region”, he explains Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Recently, Finland managed to convince Turkey to lift its veto imposed on the accession, but also Hungary, which ratified the accession treaty in the Parliament, leaving Sweden behind, as he explains Euronews. Thus, most likely, Prime Minister Sanna Marin will be able to complete this process, which the NATO Secretary General says is “the fastest ratification in the history of the alliance.”
Opinion poll data
Helsingin Sanomat
political describes Sanna Marin as “one of the stars of the European left” but with little chance of getting the majority needed to govern, including with her coalition, for the next four years. The biggest problem, invoked by the opposition, is the increase in public debt, which reached from 68.7% of GDP in the third quarter of 2021, to 70.9% in the third quarter of 2022, determined by loans to finance social assistance and state during the pandemic and economic crisis.
By the way, Marin was at the center of a scandal, when several images showed her present at a private party, dancing and posing in poses described as “unusual” by some critics. Accused of being drugged, Marin he performed a drug test which proved otherwise.
The parliamentary elections, which will take place on April 2 this year, will decide whether the current coalition formed by social democrats, centrists, greens, the Left Alliance and the Party of the Swedes, will retain their majority in the Parliament made up of 200 deputies (101 represent the majority ).
According to opinion polls, Orpo’s National Coalition holds a very narrow lead in the latest poll, with 19.8%, while Marin’s Social Democrats shared second place with the Finnish Nationalist Party, both with 19.2 %, transmit Reuters.
Turkey: The centenary is celebrated at the vote
2023 is an important year for the Republic of Turkey, which is celebrating its centenary. Founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who oversaw the transition from the medieval Ottoman theocratic state to a secular state with a Western-style democracy, the country is at a new crossroads.
In power for two decades, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP party have intensively promoted policies to annul some secular elements. Since 2016, they have also removed the army from its influential position, which, according to historians, ensured the democratic course of the country, although it carried out some coups.
Winner of several parliamentary, local and presidential elections, Erdogan is today for the first time facing an election that he can lose. Runaway inflation in 2022 has wiped out the pay rises and early retirements it facilitated, while depreciating the national currency by up to 80%, according to The Economist.
“It’s 50/50,” he notes politicalwhich reports on how officials within the institutions of power are already preparing for a possible transition, for the first time in recent decades.
The weakening of Erdogan’s chances is also dictated by the weak and delayed intervention of the authorities after the earthquakes in February, a fact that attracted a series of criticisms of his Government. In some areas, the rescue teams reached several days, and many blamed the removal of the army from this area, but also the so-called “real estate amnesties”, notes Time. Brought to power by an earthquake, Erdogan could also be removed by an earthquake.
Moreover, the opposition has announced that it will delegate a common candidate, which increases the chances of a victory, after winning the big cities following the local elections in 2019. It is Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who leads the largest opposition party, the center-left, the People’s Republican Party, founded by Ataturk himself.
Average results shown by opinion polls
Euronews
Thus, the parliamentary and presidential elections of May 14, 2023, are full of unknowns and with a real hope for change. It is about Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who leads the largest opposition, center-left party, the Republican People’s Party, supported by five other parties, he writes BBC.
The latest opinion polls show that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate of the opposition National Alliance bloc, is ahead of Recep Tayyip Erdogan with more than 50% of voters’ support, while Erdogan’s support averages 44%. transmit Euronews. The situation is different, however, in the parliamentary elections, where most polls show a narrow victory either for Erdogan’s party – the Justice and Development Party (AKP) or for the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Thus, the latest poll, carried out by the Saros company, shows a victory for the AKP, which would get 10% more than the CHP, although the credibility of this data is not clear, given the politicization of the opinion poll market.
An unknown that could overturn the fate of the elections is the Kurdish minority, which has not yet clearly announced who it will support or whether it will go to the elections with its own candidate. Forming 20% of Turkey’s population, the Kurds could clearly tip the electoral balance. Previously supporters of Erdogan, the Kurds have drifted away from him as his government has taken a harder nationalist line, it shows Reuters.
Average results shown by opinion polls
Saros
An unknown that could overturn the fate of the elections is the Kurdish minority, which has not yet clearly announced who it will support or whether it will go to the elections with its own candidate. Forming 20% of Turkey’s population, the Kurds could clearly tip the electoral balance. Previously supporters of Erdogan, the Kurds have drifted away from him as his government has taken a harder nationalist line, it shows Reuters.
Greece: Elections against the background of tragedy
A tragedy marks the beginning of the electoral period in Turkey’s neighbor, Greece. On February 28, a rail collision rocked the country, with the final death toll reaching 57. Several protests and a general strike of railway workers took place in the country’s major cities, it reports Greek Reporter.
On the other hand, in the run-up to the elections, Turkey’s rhetoric towards Greece became increasingly radical, despite the fact that the two countries are NATO members, as noted A?. However, in the wake of the two tragedies, the rhetoric seems to have disappeared from public discourse, especially after US calls to “resetting diplomatic relations”.
The conservative government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis is challenged to gain a majority in the 300-member Parliament. But its popularity was dented by the rail crash, which sparked widespread resentment over its ignoring of systemic problems. The transport minister had to to submit his resignation shortly after the accident.
Moreover, despite some measures to improve the economy, his rule was marked by an extensive espionage scandal, which involved several EU countries. Previously, the Greek prime minister was accused of the fact that the government used the Israeli software Pegasusto spy on political opponents, journalists and even cabinet ministers.
Opinion poll data
political
On March 28, Prime Minister Mitsotakis announced that parliamentary elections will be held on May 21, which coincides with the expiration of the four-year mandate, writes Euronews.
The main candidates in these elections are the Prime Minister’s party, the “New Democracy” Party, followed by the opposition “Syriza” and the “Movement for Change”. In 2019, the prime minister’s party won the parliamentary elections with almost 40%.
The latest opinion polls indicate that the prime minister’s formation, which dominated the voting options, is currently suffering. Thus, from the 36% voting intentions registered in February, the party ended up losing two percentage points. The Syriza party of the former prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, however, recorded an increase of one percent in the same period, according to the data presented by political.
Bulgaria: From anticipated to anticipated
As of 2020, Bulgaria is in a continuous political crisis, except for a period between December 2021 and August 2022 when the country was governed by the reformist cabinet of Kiril Petkov, resulting from the anticipated November 2021.
It all started with the departure from power of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, accused of corruption and forced to resign following massive demonstrations. The Balkan country has often been characterized as “the poorest and most corrupt in the EU”, but has missed its proposed targets to adopt the euro currency in 2023, together with failure to accede to Schengen.
At the same time, although considered traditionally pro-Russian, Bulgaria has set some firsts in its relationship with Ukraine, such as the provision of Soviet weaponry to the aid of Kiev, which played a crucial role, as shown political. At the same time, in the summer of 2022, the country was disconnected from gas supplies by Gazprom, on the grounds that it refused payment in rubles.
Even so, the high rate of inflation, political instability and economic uncertainty are the main topics of debate in the elections. To all this, there is also the failure to enter Schengen, alongside Romania. Electoral corruption is another problem, the price for one vote reaching 75 euros, he notes Euractive.
Opinion poll data
political
On April 2, 2023, the fifth round of snap parliamentary elections will take place in less than three years. Six parties are vying for the 121 seats needed to form a majority in the 240-seat Parliament in Sofia.
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p class=”mb-8 px-6 md:px-0 font-bitter text-s17-l170 md:text-s18-l170 text-c121212″>This time too, the polls do not show a clear winner, with the final battle to be fought between the parties of two former prime ministers. It’s about “Continuam Chimbarea” led by Kiril Petkov rated with the voting intentions of 23.7% of respondents and GERB of ex-prime minister Boiko Borisov with 22.3%, according to the survey conducted by BTW.
