Finnish parties agree to support bail-out for Portugal
12 May 2011
Political rivals in Finland have agreed to back the proposed EU bail-out for Portugal, side-stepping opposition from a powerful nationalist party. The prime minister-elect, Jyrki Katainen of the conservative NCP, said he had gained the support of the Social Democrats and others on the package.
The deal removes a major hurdle to the €78bn ($116bn; £70bn) bail-out. Unlike other eurozone countries, Finland's parliament retains the right to vote on bail-out packages. In response to the deal, the leader of the nationalist True Finns party, Timo Soini, said it was pulling out of coalition talks.
Following its shock gains in last month's general election, when it became the third-biggest party with 19 per cent of the vote, the True Finns had been widely expected to join a new coalition.
© BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation
