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Yousaf is first minister
AFTER victory in the race to become the new SNP leader, Hamza Yousaf has been elected as Scotland’s new first minister Humza Yousaf was officially elected as the new first minister of Scotland on Tuesday, March 28, after he was backed by a majority of MSPs.
This announcement comes just a day after he won the race to become the new leader of the Scottish National Party.
Yousaf’s name was then submitted to the King, with a formal swearing in ceremony subsequently taking place at the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh.
While speaking to the MPs, Yousaf, as cited by a news source said, “I will never shy away from tackling the big is sues our country faces. I will lead a government that listens carefully and respects the views of all MSPs.”
He added, “My starting point will always be that we all want the best for Scotland and the people that we are so privileged to represent, and I will stand up unequivocally for this parliament and against any attempts to undermine devolution.”
New Finnish government
FINLAND’S PM Sanna Marin’s party has been defeated in extremely tight parliamentary elections held on Sunday April 2. The centreright National Coalition Party led by Petteri Orpo, 53, received the most votes followed by the right wing Finns Party and the Social Democrats.
“Democracy has spoken. The Finnish people have voted and the party of democracy is always something wonderful,” Marin said when the results were practically closed.
Marin, 37, is very popular but Orpo was successful in arguing that public spending needs to be reduced and that Finland’s debt is too high, according to a news source. Public debt has reached just over 70 per cent of GDP since Marin took office in 2019, according to Al Jazeera.
The National Coalition Party won with 20.7 per cent, (48 seats) followed by the rightwing populist party, the Finns with 20.1 percent (46 seats) while Marin’s Social Democratic Party received 19.9 per cent of the vote (43 seats). The NCP has led in the polls for nearly two years. youngest Prime Minister in history and was the youngest serving state leader. She has been an MP since 2015 and Prime Minister since 2019.
Credit: Destinus
