The voting board during a plenary session of the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki on 21 July 2026. Parliament voted 101–90 in favour of confidence in the government. No abstentions were recorded, and eight MPs were absent. Photo: Saara Peltola / Lehtikuva
Finland's Parliament has voted to keep Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his government in office following a day-long debate over the Garden Helsinki arena funding controversy.
Both Orpo and the government won confidence votes by 101 votes to 90 after opposition parties sought to bring them down over the handling of the proposed €35 million state contribution to the project.
The extraordinary parliamentary session, which interrupted the summer recess, lasted about nine hours and included 183 speeches before the votes were held.
Orpo repeated that the government had acted to support employment and economic growth, rejected claims that political donations or lobbying influenced the decision, and said there had been "nothing improper" in the government's handling of the matter.
