Turku tram project hangs in the balance as single vote may decide outcome

A decision on Finland’s largest-ever urban investment in Turku will be made on Monday, with a razor-thin margin potentially determining whether the city will build a €500 million tram network, according to a survey by national broadcaster Yle.

The city council’s 67 members remain deeply divided, with opponents currently holding a narrow lead. Of the 53 councillors who responded to Yle’s survey, 24 support the project while 29 oppose it. Fourteen members did not reply, though most have previously stated their positions—suggesting a final vote could fall 34 against and 32 in favour if no opinions shift.

The outcome may hinge on Muhiadin Hersi, a Left Alliance councillor who remains undecided. Hersi told Yle he is weighing the decision until the last moment, acknowledging the project’s massive cost but ruling out abstention. “I’ll make my choice independently, despite unprecedented lobbying from both sides,” he said. If Hersi backs the tram, the vote could end in a 33–33 tie—leaving the deciding vote to council chair Kaija Hartiala (National Coalition Party), who opposes the project.

Turku’s largest parties are split internally. The Social Democrats officially support the tram after a 9–7 group vote, but seven dissidents plan to defy the line. The National Coalition Party, traditionally fiscally conservative, is also divided: while Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Deputy Mayor Sini Ruohonen back the tram, group chair Olli A. Manni and party heavyweight Sauli Seittenranta oppose it. Nine of the party’s 15 councillors lean against the project.

Complicating matters further, councillor Niko Aaltonen—a tram supporter—faces conflict-of-interest allegations that could bar him from voting, forcing a substitute (the first alternates oppose the tram). Smaller parties like the Greens and Swedish People’s Party largely support the project, though one Green defector, Terhi Vörlund-Wallenius, will vote no.

Deputy Mayor Ruohonen called the situation “fluid until the final minute,” noting intense behind-the-scenes negotiations. Opposing councillor Perttu Helin (Centre Party) struck a cautious tone: “The numbers look good for us, but in Turku, anything can happen.”