1966 Finnish parliamentary election

General election Finland state-1920 parliamentary 1962 Finnish parliamentary election 1962 1970 Finnish parliamentary election 1970 All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland 101 20–21 March 1966 130x130px Rafael-Paasio-1963 (cropped 2).jpg Rafael Paasio Social Democratic Party of Finland 19.50%, 38 seats 55 645,339 27.23% 17 7.73pp JohannesVirolainen1975 (cropped).jpg Johannes Virolainen Centre Party (Finland) 22.95%, 53 seats 49 503,047 21.23% 4 1.72pp Kulo (cropped).JPG Kusti Kulo SKDL 22.02%, 47 seats 41 502,374 21.20% 6 0.82pp Juha-Rihtniemi.jpg Juha Rihtniemi National Coalition Party 15.06%, 32 seats 26 326,928 13.79% 6 1.27pp Lars Erik Taxell.jpg Lars Erik Taxell Swedish People's Party of Finland 6.11%, 13 seats 11 2 134,831 5.69% 0.42pp Voorzitter Juva, Bestanddeelnr 928-1087 (cropped).jpg Mikko Juva Liberal People's 6.86%, 14 seats 9 5 153,259 6.47% 0.39p Aarre-Simonen.jpg Aarre Simonen TPSL 4.36%, 2 seats 7 5 61,274 2.59% 1.77pp Veikko Vennamo in 1967 (cropped).jpg Veikko Vennamo Smallholders' Party 2.16%, 0 seats 1 1 24,351 1.03% 1.13pp Åland Coalition 0.32%, 1 seat 1 7,118 0.30% 0.02pp Johannes Virolainen Prime Minister Centre Party (Finland) Prime Minister after election Rafael Paasio Social Democratic Party of Finland Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 20 and 21 March 1966.Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 978-3-8329-5609-7 The Social Democratic Party (SDP) overtook the Centre Party as the largest faction in Parliament. Rafael Paasio of the SDP subsequently became Prime Minister and formed a popular front government consisting of the SDP, the Centre Party, the People's Democratic League (SKDL), and the Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders (TPSL) in May 1966.Seppo Zetterberg et al (2003) A Small Giant of the Finnish History, WSOYAllan Tiitta and Seppo Zetterberg (1992) Finland Through the Ages, Reader's Digest Background Prior to the elections, Centre Party Prime Minister Johannes Virolainen had led a centre-right coalition government since September 1964. Meanwhile, Paasio had moved the SDP further to the left in order to attract back voters from the TPSL. Finnish society was undergoing a period of radical criticism of traditional values, such as Christianity, marriage, parents' authority over their children, teachers' authority over their students, patriotism, and civil servants' (including judges') authority over private citizens. The Social Democrats and the SKDL tapped into this discontent at the expense of the centre-right coalition. At the same time, leading Social Democrats, such as former Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of the Interior Väinö Leskinen, had promised to support President Kekkonen's foreign policy with regards to the Soviet Union, and his continuance as President. Results Overall, the leftist coalition achieved a combined majority (51.0%) of the votes cast in the election. File:1966 Eduskunta.svg Social Democratic Party 645339 55 +17 Centre Party 503047 49 –4 Finnish People's Democratic League 502374 41 –6 National Coalition Party 326928 26 –6 Liberal People's Party 153259 9 –5 Swedish People's Party 134831 11 –2 Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders 61274 7 +5 Smallholders' Party 24351 1 +1 Finnish Christian League 10646 0 New Åland Coalition 7118 1 0 Independence Party 513 0 New Christian Women of Western Finland 124 0 New Christian-minded of Northern Savonia 30 0 New Others 51 0 – Write-ins 161 0 – 8537 0 2800461 Tilastokeskus 2004595. Eduskuntavaalit 1927–2003 (Tilastokeskus 2004) By electoral district thumb|Finland's 1966 parliamentary election results service Electoral districtTotalseatsSeats wonSDPKeskSKDLKokRKPLKPTPSLSPPÅSÅland11Central Finland1143211Häme14522311Helsinki21744321Kymi15641211Lapland101441North Karelia93411North Savo1224411Oulu1828611Pirkanmaa124143Satakunta1343321South Savo1034111Uusimaa186232311Vaasa2037334Varsinais-Suomi165332111Total20055494126119711Source: Statistics FinlandSuomen virallinen tilasto XXIX A:29: Kansanedustajain vaalit 1966 Statistics Finland 1966 References Category:Parliamentary elections in Finland Parliament Finland