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Finnish Christian Democrats leader steps down

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The chairman of Finnish Christian Democratic Party Paivi Rasanen said on Monday she will not seek extension of her mandate ending in August.

Rasanen served as Minister of Interior from 2011 to 2015. As Christian Democratic chairman, she has been a high profile opponent of same sex marriage in Finland.

In the government talks in 2011, she was able to get a pledge from then Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen that the government would not introduce a change in the marriage law. However, the parliament passed a gender-neutral marriage act in 2014 as a result of a civic initiative.

The Christian Democrats are one of the smallest parties in the parliament with four seats, after losing one in the April 2015 election. The party is now in opposition.

Known earlier as the Christian League, the party took the name Christian Democrats in 2001. When represented at the European Parliament until 2014, they were in the European Peoples Party that also included the Finnish Conservative party which is the long time Finnish sister party of the German Christian Democrats.

In the Nordic Council, however, the Finnish Christian Democrats belong to the centrist group. Endit