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Finnish Center Party split in selecting new minister

Xinhua, October 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Member of Parliament Mika Lintila was chosen by Finnish Center Party on Thursday to take the position as the Minister for Economy and Employment of Finland.

He will succeed Olli Rehn, who has been elected to be one of the directors of the Bank of Finland. Lintila will formally start working in January 2017.

The ruling party was split on the choice as it convened a joint meeting of its Parliamentary Group and the Party Executives on Thursday. Lintila was chosen after a narrow vote 37-33 against Mauri Pekkarinen.

Mauri Pekkarinen has been a cabinet member several times while newly elected Lintila has no ministerial experience but has served in five parliaments.

Lintila belongs to those centrist politicians who favor cooperation with the conservatives. He is known as the party's expert on taxation.

Lintila was a key figure in 2012 when Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila, then a first-term MP, was campaigning to be elected as the chairman of the Center Party.

Local analysts noted that Lintila as the economic minister will face tough questions such as the continued existance of the money losing Talvivaara nickel mine.

The government will have to decide within a few months whether to keep the state-owned nickel mine operator Terraframe to close it. Endit