PM elected SDP chairperson

Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Sunday was elected the chairperson of the ruling Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP).

The outgoing chairperson Antti Rinne, who served in the post for two terms in the last six years, handed over the responsibility to Marin, the youngest prime minister in the world, after she had been elected the party chair unanimously at a party council in Tampere.

After being elected, Marin thanked the party delegates in her introductory speech, when she briefly outlined the upcoming activities of the SDP.

The newly elected SDP leader emphasised that the measures needed to curb unemployment in the country must be ‘just’. Employment has been seen as a divisive issue in the coalition.

She said she would defend the political aims of her party, even if the aims would be different from the programmes of the five-party alliance government.

When party leaders accorded reception to her with floral wreath, the song by British rock band Queen "Don't Stop Me Now" was being played in the background.

The incumbent party Secretary Antton Rönnholm was re-elected in the post unopposed in the council.

The party also elected three vice chairs – Ville Skinnari, Matias Mäkynen, and Niina Malm – out of six candidates.

Marin has been playing a vital role in the party since she was suddenly made the country’s prime minister in December 2019, following the resignation of Antti Rinne centring on a strike of the workers in the country’s postal sector.

The popularity of the SDP has increased significantly in the recent months, according to different opinion polls.