Government formation talks begin with opening seminar at House of the Estates

The negotiations to form a new government began at the House of the Estates on Tuesday 2 May 2023 led by Petteri Orpo. The talks began with an opening seminar, where the parliamentary groups and the secretariats of the parties discussed the state of affairs in Finland from the point of view of various sectors in society in order to find a common vision.

The seminar included presentations by Permanent Secretary Juha Majanen from the Ministry of Finance, Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn, Chief of Defence Timo Kivinen, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Institute Petteri Taalas, Permanent Secretary Anita Lehikoinen from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ambassador of Finland to the European Union Markku Keinänen and Chairperson of the Technology Advisory Board Risto Siilasmaa.

The seminar also featured a discussion between Ombudsman for Older Persons Päivi Topo and Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen. Leader of the government formation talks Petteri Orpo gave the opening and closing addresses.

The presentations given at the seminar are available on the government formation talks website.

Opening week to continue until Friday

The political parties participating in the talks are the National Coalition Party, the Finns Party, the Swedish People’s Party of Finland and the Christian Democrats in Finland. In their talks at the House of the Estates, the parties will negotiate on a new government programme, which will set the policies of the next government and guide its work over the government term. The parties will also agree on the number of ministers and on the distribution of ministerial portfolios and division of duties among the parties.

The government formation talks will continue on Wednesday 3 May, which will be the first day of the actual negotiations. The first week of talks will continue until Friday.

Inquiries: Päivi Paasikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 547 6279, Jyri Rantala, Deputy Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 50 563 3029