HELSINKI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish five-party coalition government under Prime Minister Sanna Marin won parliamentary vote of confidence on Tuesday.
The government enjoyed a majority backing in the voting with 105 votes for, 80 against and 14 absent.
In her speech presenting the government's program to the parliament, Marin underlined the intention of strengthening and developing the Nordic welfare state system in Finland. She singled out the ongoing plans to increase small pensions, to improve social services and to increase funding for education. She also maintained the aim of making Finland carbon neutral by 2035.
However, during the two-day parliament debate before the confidence vote, the leading opposition party, the Finns Party, said that new elections should have been called, after the resignation of previous prime minister Antti Rinne.
Rinne, who's also Social Democratic Party leader, resigned on Dec. 3 in the wake of losing the support of one of the five coalition parties, the Center.
Sanna Marin, Finnish Social Democratic Party MP, was then elected to be the new prime minister.
The new coalition government continues to consist of the Social Democratic Party, the Center Party, the Green Alliance, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party.
The other main opposition party, the conservative National Coalition Party, criticized the government's economic policy vistas for not being based on economic realities.
