Finns are going to the polls this Sunday, when they will elect 200 members of the country's parliament. These elections are heavily contested between the three parties: the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party (NCP). 

The opinion polls give a slight advantage to the NCP. 

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Finland might be one of the most democratic countries in the world, if you follow the popular guidelines. Stepping out of those is not accepted, as the voters tend to punish "mischiefs" instantly. 

Politicians are quite aware of this – hence the vast majority of them are not ready to disrupt the calm waters of Finnish politics. 

Marginal differences

This is possibly why there are only marginal differences in voter support numbers between the three leading parties, according to the opinion polls. It is also important to note that the difference in political programs between those three leading parties can also seem marginal, to those watching from the outside.

But on April 2, Finns will have to choose which of those tiny differences are the most important for them. 

A total of 27 political parties and movements, plus independent candidates, are running for 200 seats in the national parliament. The three frontrunners are the center-left incumbents SDP, led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin; the nationalistic Finns Party, led by Rikka Purra; and the NCP, widely known as the Conservatives, led by Petteri Orpo. 

CGTN Europe met Finns Party leader Purra, during a small one-on-one meeting with the voters in the suburbs of the town of Vantaa. 

"Several parties have announced they will not cooperate with us," she told CGTN. "The largest of them are the Social Democrats. If Sanna Marin was serious and if this was not an election strategy, this means we would likely negotiate with the Conservatives."

Key issues

The latest opinion polls suggest that the NCP has a slight advantage over the other two leading contestants. The party advocates for budget cuts and other unpopular measures to reduce the sizable national debt. 

The Finns Party also supports stricter immigration policies, while the SDP leans more to the left, highlighting education and social politics as key issues.

The issues they all agree on are the necessity of Finland's NATO membership, undivided and unconditional support for Ukraine, and treating Russia as a hostile country. 

However, it is evident that none of those parties can form a government on its own, so a coalition government is inevitable. So the main question remains: who will form it and with whom?

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