Finnish Coalition Inches Closer to Deal Salvaging Cabinet

(Bloomberg) -- Finland’s ruling coalition is inching closer to resolving the deadlock that’s left the government’s future hanging by a thread.

A key member of the cabinet has clashed with the leading Social Democrats, demanding the parties forge a common vision of how Finland’s recovery from the pandemic should take place. With talks set to continue on Wednesday, the Center Party is pushing for less stimulus than the coalition’s left-leaning members.

Seven days of talks brought no resolution, but progress was made in talks in the dead of the night.

“A deal is starting to form,” Center Party leader Annika Saarikko said after a meeting with her party members to decide on next steps. However, talks between the five ruling parties “are still not finished,” she said.

The government of the Nordic region’s only euro member has teetered on the edge of collapse since the weekend, with Social Democrat Prime Minister Sanna Marin offering various compromise proposals that the center-right party continued to reject. On Tuesday, Marin signaled she wouldn’t preside over a minority government should the Center Party quit.

“We’re not arguing about how much money Finland will spend on what this year or the next, but whether we have enough of a common view as to what Finland needs to do to rebuild after the pandemic,” Saarikko said late on Tuesday. “That is this government’s most important job.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.