Leftist MPs had demanded changes to the package negotiated by government party leaders, but their proposal to renegotiate the deal was blocked by the other government parties.
Left Alliance party chair Paavo Arhinmäki announced his party's departure at a cabinet meeting at the House of the Estates on Tuesday evening. The decision means Transport minister Merja Kyllönen will leave her post along with Arhinmäki, who served as the minister for culture.
Mps from the other five parties in government accepted the austerity package in full, leaving ministers from those parties free to continue in their posts.
