In addition to its impressive size, this Congress was also of a particular political significance, as it held elections for Party Leader, Secretary General, Deputy Party Leaders as well as establishing a political manifesto for the coming years, with the notable focus of cementing its position as Finland's main Party in next year's Parliamentary elections.

Being in that position, Keskusta's elections for Party Leader simultaneously mean the successful candidate becomes Finnish Prime Minister. As the current Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen already announced last winter that he would step down come summer; the stage was set for a new force to take up the reins.

As things developed, this turned out to become anything but pre-decided. In what aptly can be described as an extraordinarily democratic process, four good candidates teamed up and toured the country for several months, presenting their political visions and convincing presumptive voters of their credibility.

Despite these thorough preparations, it became an extremely tight race in the end. By the start of the Congress, polls could still not clearly distinguish a clear favourite; and by the day of the elections, some 600 delegates had requested speaking slots to voice their opinion in favour of one candidate or the other.

All said and done, when the delegates went to the polls, two candidates were put head-to-head: Ms. Mari Kiviniemi, Minister for Public Administration and Local Government and Mr. Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister for Trade and Industry. In the second round, Ms. Kiviniemi managed to gather the majority of votes and win the elections with a narrow margin of around 300 votes.

ELDR would like to take the occasion to wish Mari Kiviniemi all the best in her new challenges when she takes office after Prime Minister Vanhanen official leaves his post on 18^th June. Apart from continuing Matti Vanhanen's successful statesmanship in keeping the books in balance as well as making Finland's voice heard on the European stage, she will also assume the important challenge of guiding Keskusta into the Parliamentary elections in April 2011.

ELDR thanks Matti Vanhanen for the dedication he has shown to European liberalism during his time as prime minister and is confident that the good cooperation with Keskusta will continue with Mrs Kiviniemi at the helm. Fluent in several languages including German and English and equipped with extensive ministerial competence, she is well placed to continue Matti Vanhanen's successful years.