Finland's National Coalition Party voted on Saturday to replace Finance Minister Alexander Stubb as leader, hoping to revive flagging support for the center-right group that is part of the government elected last year.
At a party congress, 441 delegates voted in favor of replacing Stubb with Interior Minister Petteri Orpo, while 361 backed keeping him as NCP chief. Orpo is now expected to become finance minister.
Stubb, who served as prime minister in 2014-15, has faced growing criticism both for his party's poor showing in polls and for compromises made in the three-party government. A polyglot, social media-savvy sportsman, Stubb has also drawn fire for his image and leadership style.
In a speech to party members gathered in a small town near the Russian border, 46-year-old Orpo said he wanted to curb public debt growth and seek measures to support entrepreneurship.
"We are seen as an arrogant party. We have to rebuild the trust between the NCP and Finnish citizens," he said ahead of the vote.
Orpo is seen as a consensus-seeker with little experience from international politics, but he has been hailed across the political specter for his handling of the migration crisis as the interior minister.
Stubb stirred anger last year by giving parliament incorrect information on a plan to allow local investors to hold securities through an anonymous register, a bill he later dropped.
In November, a man threw a soft drink at Stubb's face in a cafeteria. In August, two men shot through the windows of his private home with an air rifle during the night.
"Stubb previously was a pet of the political publicity, he was seen as fresh and open-minded. But lately, he has evoked a lot of irritation," said Erkka Railo, a political scientist at the University of Turku.
A poll by public broadcaster YLE gave the NCP support of 17.7 percent, putting it behind an opposition party and Prime Minister Juha Sipila's Centre Party.
The ruling coalition, which includes the nationalist Finns party, nearly collapsed last year but has since pushed through labor and healthcare reforms and spending cuts.
Beset by problems including the decline of Nokia's former phone business, Finland is forecast to be the worst performing economy in the European Union this year except for Greece.
