Finnish PM reelected as Centre Party chairman

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila was reelected for another two-year period as chairman of the Centre Party in its convention in Seinajoki, central Finland on Saturday.

There were no other candidates. Local analysts have said that the major achievement of Sipila in getting through regional administration in the health reform last autumn muted much of the discontent.

A year ago Sipila bypassed some experienced centrist parliamentarians in forming the incumbent government.

Addressing the delegates, Sipila assured that economic recovery was already on its way and said that better employment figures would be seen in the autumn.

On security policy, he upheld the governmental program to insist Finland is "a country outside military alliances that maintains the option of applying for membership in NATO".

He underlined continuity in Finnish foreign policy, but said it did not mean that "we would stand blind" and said that change in the security environment has to be acknowledged. Endit