Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo secured another two-year term as leader of the National Coalition Party on Saturday after delegates at the party’s congress in Jyväskylä re-elected him without opposition.
The vote extends Orpo’s decade-long tenure at the head of Finland’s centre-right party and places him on course to match the record set by former leader Ilkka Suominen if he completes the new mandate through 2028.
Addressing party members after his re-election, Orpo defended both his leadership and the policies pursued by his government, arguing that economic indicators showed progress after a period of difficult reforms.
“Look at the results,” Orpo said in his keynote speech, responding to criticism that he had sometimes been viewed as too soft in politics.
He said leadership involved bringing people together, finding common direction and making decisions even with those who disagreed on many issues.
Orpo told delegates that his government had laid the foundations for economic recovery and urged supporters to stay the course.
“Now is not the time to change direction,” he said.
The prime minister used his speech to set out the party’s long-term ambitions, including expanding nuclear power production, increasing employment and strengthening Finland’s position in artificial intelligence and clean electricity generation.
He repeated the party’s goal of reducing taxation and said the National Coalition Party wanted a Finland where tax authorities would never take more than half of any additional euro earned by an individual.
One of the loudest reactions from delegates came when Orpo announced that the party would continue pursuing the abolition of inheritance and gift taxes.
According to comments made later at a press conference, Orpo said the taxes would be replaced with a capital gains tax model. He described ending inheritance taxation as a “very strong objective” for the party.
The congress also focused on healthcare and ageing. Orpo spoke about the death of his mother earlier this year following Alzheimer’s disease and said her experience in a care home reinforced his belief that every Finn should receive safe care and treatment.
He called for a nationwide personal doctor system during the next parliamentary term and said older patients should not have to repeat their medical history to different healthcare professionals.
“We want every Finn to have a familiar doctor and nurse,” he told delegates.
Orpo also argued that Finland should move closer to what he described as the Nordic welfare model, placing greater emphasis on employment and public services rather than direct income transfers.
“Services come before transfers,” he said.
The prime minister said every working-age person capable of employment should have the opportunity to work and that Finland needed stronger economic foundations to sustain its welfare system.
He pointed to recent economic figures showing quarterly growth of 0.9 per cent and said the government’s programme was beginning to produce results.
The party leader also defended Finland’s fiscal rules and urged all major political parties to respect the country’s debt brake agreement, warning that public finances would remain a central challenge in the coming years.
He acknowledged that further adjustments would be required during the next parliamentary term and indicated that spending cuts would remain the primary tool, while leaving open the possibility of tax increases in some areas.
The National Coalition Party congress continues until Sunday, when delegates will elect three deputy leaders and members of the party council.
The gathering is also expected to debate around 300 policy motions and a programme setting out the party’s objectives through to 2040.
HT