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Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Finland could lean rightward as PM loses election

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Apr 2023 09:51
3 Min Read

The incumbent prime minister appears to have been ousted despite the 37-year-old was frequently praised as the country's most popular prime minister in the 2000s.

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  • Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Social Democratic Party chair, center, reacts as she watches results of exit polls in Helsinki, Finland, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)
    Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Social Democratic Party chair, center, reacts as she watches results of exit polls in Helsinki, Finland, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)

After narrowly defeating his rivals, the leader of Finland's liberal-conservative National Coalition Party promised to be open to talks with all parties. However, despite their differences, the nationalist Finns Party emerged as the most likely candidate to create a ruling coalition.

The Finnish population seems to be in favor of a power shift, as the liberal-conservative National Coalition Party emerged as Sunday's victor in the tightly contested parliamentary election. 

The National Coalition of Petteri Orpo narrowly defeated the Social Democrats of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the nationalist Finns by less than one percent (20.8, 20.1, and 19.9, respectively).

"Do you know what? It was a win," Orpo told his cheering supporters, as quoted by Finnish media. He also expressed his openness to engaging in talks with all parties, interpreting the election results as a sign that the Finns "want changes." 

Orpo now has the option of forming a coalition with either of his main rivals because the smaller parties on Finland's political horizon—the Centre Party, the Left Alliance, and the Greens, which acted as the Social Democrats' sidekicks during their time in power—all suffered significant losses after their participation in the current five-party coalition.

On the promise of implementing a new economic strategy, he ran on a program promising to address Finland's issues with the nation's mounting debt and to hasten economic growth. He also supports cutting back on handouts and welfare.

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This would make an alliance with the Social Democrats very unlikely, given the parties' wildly divergent views on state finances and the need for budget cuts. Instead of slimming down welfare, Marin's party wants to increase taxes further. Even National Coalition activists themselves dismissed the perspective of forming a so-called "blue-red" government.

However, after winning the election, Orpo made it clear that he was willing to work with the Finns Party as allies by eschewing the "far-right" categorization that is frequently used by media and saying that he "doesn't see" any such parties in Finland.

Despite being repeatedly praised as the country's most popular prime minister in the 2000s and compared to a "rock star" because of her penchant for glamorous photo shoots, magazine cover appearances, and fans swarming to take selfies with her during public events, incumbent Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 37, appears to have lost her job. 

Read next: Finnish PM party ranks last in popular poll one day before elections

  • Finland
  • Finland elections
  • Sanna Marin

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