HELSINKI, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Whether the center-right parties in Finland would be able to form a cabinet or whether a coalition of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) and conservatives - with some small parties - would take over remained unclear on Monday. Petteri Orpo, chair of the conservative National Coalition, said he would begin coalition talks after the Easter break.
On Sunday, voters in Finland cast their ballots in a closely contested parliamentary election. The opposition Conservatives came out on top, claiming 48 seats in the 200-member Parliament, followed by the right-wing populist Finns Party with 46 seats, and the SDP, the leading party in the outgoing coalition, with 43 seats. The Center Party, the Greens and the Left Alliance suffered major losses.
The party with the highest number of parliamentary seats will form the government. In absence of a clear majority - 101 seats - it is inevitable for the parties to enter into coalition talks.
Jenni Karimaki, a researcher at Helsinki University, told the news agency STT that the conservatives and the Finns could fairly easily agree on economic policy issues, but major disagreements prevail between them on immigration, climate change issues, and European Union policies.
"Meanwhile, as for cooperation between the conservatives and the SDP, the situation is the opposite", said Karimaki. The conservatives and the SDP differ on the measures needed to stabilize the Finnish economy, Karimaki added.
On Monday, both the chair of the Center Party, Annika Saarikko, and the chair of the Greens, Maria Ohisalo, said that their parties would go into opposition following their losses.
Markku Jokisipila, director of the Center for Parliamentary Studies at Turku University, told the newspaper Turun Sanomat that a possible refusal by the Center Party to take government responsibility would weaken the chances of the Finns to get into the government and could lead to the formation of a coalition of the conservatives and the SDP, especially "if the Greens would be willing to take part after their major losses."
For a possible coalition option between the conservatives and the Finns, the Swedish People's Party's attitude could be important, Elina Kestila-Kekkonen, professor of political science at Tampere University, said on national radio Yle.
The conservatives and the Finns would have 94 MPs based on initial election results, which are to be confirmed on Wednesday. However, with the help of Christian Democrats and the "Movement Now", they would reach 100 seats and would thus need the Swedish People's Party.
Despite the huge problems to be tackled during the coalition talks, the likelihood of a minority government is very low, Jokisipila said. The last time Finland had a minority government was in 1976. ■