Finnish parliamentary election, 1966

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Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 20 and 21 March 1966.^[1]

Background

Centrist Prime Minister Johannes Virolainen had led a centre-right coalition government since September 1964. Meanwhile, the Social Democratic leader Rafael Paasio had moved the party somewhat more to the left, in order to attract back voters from the Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders (TPSL). Finnish society was undergoing radical criticism of the traditional values - Christianity, marriage, parents' authority over their children, teachers' authority over their students, patriotism and civil servants' (including judges') authority over the private citizens. The Social Democrats and the Communists tapped into this discontent at the expense of the centre-right parties. At the same time, leading Social Democrats, such as former Social Affairs and Interior Minister Väinö Leskinen, had promised to loyally support President Kekkonen's foreign policy towards the Soviet Union, and his continuance as President. Although the Communists performed quite well in the election, they lost six seats to the Social Democratic opposition, which formed an electoral alliance with the Communists. After the election, Rafael Paasio formed a "popular front" government of the Social Democrats, Centrists, Communists and Social Democratic opposition in May 1966.^[2][3]

Results

References

Elections and referendums in Finland Parliamentary elections 1863 1867 1872 1877 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1900 1901 1905 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1922 1924 1927 1929 1930 1933 1936 1939 1945 1948 1951 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1972 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Municipal elections 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1928 1930 1933 1936 1945 1947 1950 1953 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2017 Presidential elections 1919 1925 1931 1937 1940 1943 1944 1946 1950 1956 1962 1968 1973 1978 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 European elections 1996 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Referendums 1931 1994 Elections in brackets were not public elections