Prime Minister Petteri Orpo reportedly tried to pursue President Alexander Stubb to delay publicly disclosing his support for recognising a Palestinian state, reported national broadcaster Yle on Friday.
Orpo made the request when Stubb informed him about the planning to make his position public on the issue before an interview with the News Agency STT at the end of July.
Stubb, however, in the interview expressed his readiness to recognise a Palestinian state, if the government were to propose it.
Orpo consistently told that the government is not ready to recognise the Palestine as state at this moment.
He also reiterated his position in a party meeting on August 9, when he said that the four-party alliance government is not preparing to recognise the Palestine as a state at this moment.
The role of the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) led government on Gaza issue raised controversy in the country, particularly among the political parties.
Two components of the four-party alliance government- radical rightist Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) and Suomen Kristillisdemokraati (Christian Democratic Party-CD) are strongly opposing the recognition while most of the opposition parties are supporting the recognition of Palestine as a state.
Chairperson of the main opposition party Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP) Antti Lindtman on August 14 strongly criticised the government for its reluctance to recognise a Palestinian state.
Speaking at a party meeting, he also warned to bring a no-confidence motion against the government in the parliament, if the government fails to clarify its position on the recognition of a Palestinian state by early September.
According to a recent survey, majority of the lawmakers in Finnish parliament support recognition of Palestine as a state.
Different countries including France, UK, Canada and Australia already announced to recognise Palestine as a state next month.
As of March 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 147 member countries of the United Nations out of the total 193 member states.
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
