All eyes are on Sunday’s local election results as Monday papers progress through the nationwide revenue stream.
Who were the winners?
According to Swedish Hufvudstadsbladet, it was a good night for the National Coalition Party (NCP), which was at the forefront of the poll.
"The national contact point has seen the votes this spring, which is a touch screen for the party leader," paper write.
"The National Contact Point won – [party leader Petteri] Orphan can breathe easily," it added.
But while the national contact point came first in Sunday’s local election, its percentage of the national vote fell slightly, 0.7 percent from the 2017 result.
The story continues after the picture.
However, turnout also fell this year, by just over 55 per cent.
"Low turnout usually means NCP profits – and that’s how it went this time," HBL writes.
NCP Director Orpo had a different diagnosis: "Voters want a change in government line. The National Contact Point was a clear alternative to" he said.
_It happened: follow our election day live blog here.
The Finnish party is the largest recipient of votes
With all votes cast, the Finnish Party was by far the largest election night, with 5.6 per cent more votes cast than in 2017.
But according to Helsingin sanomat newspaperAnalysis, even this result could have been disappointing for a party that is currently at the forefront of national polls.
"The rise of more than 14% was symbolically important. The Finns are a big municipal party, dot. It raises the party’s influence and importance.
"However, expectations were higher, at 15-16%," HS writes.
The story continues after the picture.
Election Analyst Jussi Westinen told the newspaper that Finns struggled at the local level when the party was more connected "big picture" national policy.
"One explanation is that party supporters ultimately do not consider municipal elections as important as parliamentary elections. The most important issues, such as the EU, internationality, immigration, the “voting of the good old Finland” and value-based issues, are more national policy," Westinen said.
Election results in your area: see local winners and losers here.
Hard night for SDP
All five governing parties lost their seats in this year’s local elections, and only the Swedish People’s Party (SPP) managed to increase its turnout by 0.1 per cent.
"All in all, it was an unusual, digital, remote campaign," prime minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said Iltalehti. Marini’s party came in second, but fell 1.7 percent from the 2017 result.
The story continues after the picture.
– Chairman of the SDP parliamentary group Antti Lindtman told the tabloid that the local election had not fully fought for local issues.
"Of course, there were many things in the election debates of recent weeks other than municipal services," Lindtman said.
Lindtman asked if Prime Minister Marin’s meals last November had led to the party’s poor performance, Lindtman said it was possibly a factor.
"At least it contributed to it taking space away from other things. In any case, they were very unusual elections, the summer elections, and the electoral questions were unusual," he said.
Surprise Green wins in the West
The terrible night of the largest ruling party was especially intense in the traditional SDP fort in Pori. The decline in party support on the west coast was nearly three times the national average, according to a local newspaper The People of Satakunta.
Although the SDP’s loss was a victory for the Finnish party – the trend is reflected nationwide – the Green Party also did well in the city, and the main candidate Timo Aro fall more votes than anything else.
"There is no adjective that adequately describes how exceptional it is that the sound magnet of Pori is green," The People of Satakunta write.
According to the newspaper, the focus of the Greens on local issues was the key to the party’s success in Pori, attracting left-wing voters from other parties.
Aro’s victory in Pori also points to a future change in local politics in the western province.
"Aro’s personal popularity opens up the possibility that the Greens may seek a place in Satakunta in the next parliamentary elections," The People of Satakunta write.
Drama in Tampere
In Tampere’s Sunday counting, the National Ministry of Defense took over the city’s mayor after biting his fingernails, when the MP and former mayor were Anna-Kaisa Ikonen expel the SDP established Lauri Lyly with only 26 votes.
Both sides are on the verge of their place today as city officials begin counting the votes before the final results are delivered.
The story continues after the picture.
"Now that the difference is so small, if there are a lot of individual differences and they go the same way, it can still change the overall result," Chairman of the Tampere Electoral Commission Juha Perämaa said Morning paper.
"It is certainly worth waiting for what the outcome will be," Perämaa said.