COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE
The shortest useful version of how power works here.
Parliament elects the prime minister, passes laws, approves the budget and supervises the government.
Parliament elects the prime minister, passes laws, approves the budget and supervises the government. Coalition governments are the norm.
The president directs foreign policy together with the government and is commander-in-chief, while the prime minister leads domestic government and European Union policy.
Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee reviews whether proposed laws comply with the Constitution.
Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee reviews whether proposed laws comply with the Constitution. Courts may give the Constitution priority in a clear conflict.
Some political words change meaning across countries. These are the distinctions worth knowing first.
The Centre Party grew from an agrarian movement but is not confined to farming.
The Centre Party grew from an agrarian movement but is not confined to farming. It combines regional decentralisation with positions that vary across economic and social questions.
The National Coalition Party is liberal-conservative and centre-right; its name does not mean a temporary coalition of all parties.
Enough structure to make the rest of the page intelligible.
Only the events that help explain how today’s system got here.
Finland created a unicameral parliament and introduced universal and equal suffrage.
Finland declared independence and then adopted a republican constitution.
Finland joined the European Union after a consultative referendum.
A new Constitution strengthened parliamentary government and brought earlier constitutional acts together.
Current-data work still open: Current office holders · Current Eduskunta composition and party profiles · Latest election and turnout · Democracy, rights and civic-space dimensions · Long-term indicator trends