Prime Minister Sanna Marin, center-right National Alliance party leader Petri Orpo and far-right Riika Pura are the front-runners for Finland’s prime minister, whose citizens go to the polls on Sunday.

THE Sana Marin, the world’s youngest democratically elected leader of a country became prime minister at the age of 34, has been in power since 2019 and has become model of feminist politics.

It has made headlines for hard line which followed against Russia, while caused confrontation about some of her appearances and participation in parties. Yet she was little known in Finland before her meteoric rise to the upper echelons of politics.

It is considered one of the top leaders of the young political guards in Europe and her name is already being discussed for higher positions in Brussels.

During her election campaign, Marin defended her achievements on the economy in the face of calls for austerity measures from the conservative National Alliance Party.

With the Finland entered recession at the end of last year Marin insists the time has come to stimulate the economy rather than cut public spending.

Managed the crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic, led the country to apply for NATO membership and at the same time kept the balance in its fractious five-party coalition government…all these have made Marin a pragmatic leader.

Although some people think so strong and steadfast as prime ministerothers argue that the party scandals her name has been involved in make her unfit for office.

Marin grew up in working-class housing in the town of Pirkala in southern Finland with her mother and her mother’s partner.

She was the first member of her family to attend university and earned a master’s degree in Management Science.

The Meek Conservative

Petri Orpo, the 53-year-old head of the center-right National Alliance party, is the longest-serving politician of the three main contenders for prime minister.

He was first elected to parliament in 2007 and has served three times as a minister, he holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Turku with a specialization in economics.

“The most important thing the National Alliance wants to change in Finland is to stop increasing the debt,” Orpo told AFP during a recent campaign rally.

The National Alliance has attacked Marin’s government for what it sees as an irresponsible increase in public debt and has said it wants to cut spending by six billion euros if elected.

He is described as friendly and gentle, although some wonder how this father of two has endured so long in the harsh world of politics.

Although this calm usually favors heated pre-election debates, Orpo is losing ground in front of dynamic speakers like Marin.

In October, he was accused of belittling womenand had to apologize after referring to Marin and Finance Minister Anika Saariko’s “squeals” during the debate.

While Marin has ruled out forming a government with the “openly racist” populist Finns Party, Orpo has said he will keep his options open.

Despite his party’s differences with the Finns Party on immigration, the EU and the climate, they still “have a lot in common,” he said.

Orpo will likely play a central role in forming the next government, as both the Finns Party and the Social Democrats will need him to build a majority.

The Vegetarian Ethnikistria

With her signature green smoothies, Riika Pura’s image stands in stark contrast to that of her predecessor at the helm of the nationalist and anti-immigration Finns Party.

Before assuming leadership in 2021, the party was led by gun enthusiast Jusi Halaho, whose controversial statements led to his conviction for inciting national hatred.

The 45-year-old Pura, mother of two, has an Instagram account dedicated to her plant-based diet and raw juices.

After her mother died when she was 12, Pura became concerned about environmental issues as a teenager, about overconsumption and the degradation of nature.

He later showed an interest in Halacha writings, arguing that the negative aspects of immigration were treated with too much indifference in Finland.

The Eurosceptic Finns Party has championed a hard line on immigration, citing neighboring Sweden’s woes with gang-related shootings and bombings and blaming them on immigrants.

As she has told public broadcaster Yle, in her teenage years she was harassed by people with an immigrant background, which shaped her views.