Finland votes for business – new PM is 53yo millionaire engineer

By Kati Pohjanpalo and Raine Tiessalo

(Bloomberg) — Finland’s Center Party, led by self-made millionaire Juha Sipila, won national elections as Finns look for a path out of the country’s economic sclerosis.

Chairman Juha Sipila (R) of the Centre Party has a selfie taken at the party's parliamentary elections reception in Helsinki April 19, 2015, after the results of the votes. At left wife Minna. A millionaire former telecoms executive touted as a technocrat capable of rescuing Finland from economic slump won Sunday's parliamentary election, vote predictions showed, but he may need support of a Euro-sceptical populist party to form a coalition. Forecasts by state broadcaster YLE based on 60 percent of votes showed opposition Centre Party leader Sipila, who has backing of the urban middle class and rural conservatives, beating pro-Europe and pro-NATO Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. REUTERS/Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS.
Chairman Juha Sipila (R) of the Centre Party has a selfie taken at the party’s parliamentary elections reception in Helsinki April 19, 2015, after the results of the votes. At left wife Minna. REUTERS/Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva 

After three years of recession, the next government will need to repair the damage done by lost trade with Russia and the demise of a consumer electronics industry once led by Nokia Oyj. The decline of the paper industry has also wiped out thousands of jobs, leaving unemployment above 10 percent as economic growth hobbles along at half the euro-zone average.

Sipila, a 53-year-old engineer by training, has promised to inject new life into the $220 billion economy by creating 200,000 private-sector jobs over the next decade and promoting business-friendly policies including more predictable tax laws.

“There are no magic tricks,” Sipila said in a broadcast on YLE TV1. “It’s a 10-year project to fix the economy, get the economy competitive again. Balancing public finances is a second priority.”

Sipila, whose Center Party rose to 21.5 percent with more than 96 percent of votes counted, according to the Justice Ministry, will try to form a majority coalition that may include the euro-skeptic The Finns party, poised to get 17.6 percent, after falling 1.5 percentage points. He will also probably need to turn to either the Social Democrats or the National Coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Alexander Stubb.

Stubb’s party received backing from 18 percent, dropping 2.4 percentage points from 2011. The Social Democrats slid 2.7 percentage points to 16.4 percent.

Austerity isn’t what splits Finland’s political parties. All major groups have pledged some combination of belt- tightening and growth policies to address the challenges posed by Europe’s fastest-aging population. Sipila has made clear he favors spending cuts after ruling out higher taxes.

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