Antti Kaikkonen is expected to be re-elected as chair of the Centre Party at the party congress. The meeting will also set the tone for the party’s next phase, as delegates decide what issues the Centre wants to emphasise in the years ahead.

The party’s goal is to make Finland the safest country in the world by 2030. The Centre links that objective to security, preparedness and the resilience of society, and wants those themes to play a more visible role in its profile.

The party board is proposing that the congress back a move in the 2030s toward a universal service obligation for everyone. In practice, that would mean compulsory service for young men and women. The proposal is one of the main items on the congress agenda.

Delegates will also vote on the deputy chair posts, and the naming process for the party’s presidential candidate is on the table as well. The party council has proposed changing the rules so that the nomination would be handled by the council.

The congress decisions may shape the Centre’s internal balance and its public image going forward. For now, however, the clearest outcome appears to be Kaikkonen’s continued leadership of the party.