Did you miss the election? Here's what you need to know

1. The Andersson effect

Left Alliance party leader Li Andersson made history on Sunday night, attracting more votes than any other Finnish candidate has ever received in a European election. Her party gained over ten percentage points over the previous Euro election five years ago. No pre-election poll predicted such a significant result for the party, which came in second after the ruling National Coalition Party.

Election expert Sami Borg said the result means one in seven voters cast ballots for the leftist leader. He coined the result the "Andersson effect," saying it was a bigger surprise than the Finns Party's initial rise to power in the 2011 elections.

2. The Finns Party lost

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The Finns Party fell short of their previous European election results, receiving only under eight percent of the vote. Their support has roughly halved compared to the 2019 Euro elections. The party is now down to one seat in the European Parliament from three.

The result was unexpected but likely reflected dissatisfaction with government policies, according to the party.

3. Finland will get new MPs

With ten MPs from the Finnish Parliament heading to Brussels, the legislature will see ten new replacements, effectively runners-up in last year's general election.

4. From presidential dud to EU election darling

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After gaining just 1.5 percent support in this year's presidential election, foreign policy specialist Mika Aaltola said he wouldn't pursue any more political ambitions. He, however, stood for the National Coalition Party in this election and drew more votes for the party than any other NCP candidate.

In fact, he attracted more votes on Sunday than during his presidential bid this past winter.

Here are Finland's 15 new MEPs

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