The Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, has announced that he will not seek another term as the leader of the Finnish Centre Party when its conference is held next June. According to Helsinki Times, Vanhanen said that he faced surgery on his leg in autumn 2010 and that with the recovery time required he would not be in a position to act as PM and party leader in the run up to the 2011 general election. It might also be noted that Vanhanen has been facing some difficult opinion poll ratings recently.

This decision raises issues as to who will be the next PM and when. In theory, Vanhanen could resign as PM as soon as the Centre Party has chosen its new leader. That person would then most likely be proposed as the new head of government and approved by the existing majority in the Eduskunta (parliament). However, it is possible that the other main government party, the National Coalition Party, may want the position of PM for itself. To complicate matters, though, Vanhanen could decide to continue as PM until the 2011 election and he hinted at this scenario in his original announcement. In a subsequent statement, though, Vanhanen implied that the first scenario is the most likely.

According to a poll reported in Helsinki Times, Paula Lehtomäki, the Minister of the Environment, is the most popular choice as the new head of the Centre Party.