2024-01-28 20:24:51
Barcelona The conservative Alexander Stubb leads the count in the first round of the Finnish presidential elections this Sunday, with 27.1% of the votes against the 25.8% of the environmentalist Pekka Haavisto. The far-right Jussi Halla-aho, with 19% would be left out of the second round, which will be held on February 11.
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Although Finland has a non-presidential system, the head of state, who also acts as commander of the armed forces, participates in foreign and security policy decisions, in agreement with the current government. And precisely the threat of Russia, with whom Finland shares a border of 1,300 kilometers, has marked the campaign. Finland had traditionally maintained an equidistant position between Russia and NATO, but the invasion of Ukraine forced a change in Helsinki. The winner of the second round will succeed Sauli Niinistö, who has completed two six-year terms in the position established by the Constitution, and who promoted the country’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance, a historic decision that until started the war in Ukraine had very minority support in Finland.
Stubb (55) and Haavisto (65) were the candidates with the most experience in international and security policy. The conservative, head of the more liberal wing of the National Coalition (Kokoomus), is a convinced Europhile and began his political career twenty years ago as a member of the European Parliament. He then held various ministries, and also briefly held the position of Prime Minister, between 2014 and 2015. After losing the leadership of his party to Petteri Orpo, the current Prime Minister of Finland, he went to work in European Investment Bank. In recent years he had been removed from politics, but precisely his views on security following the Russian aggression in Ukraine, brought him back to public opinion.
Haavisto had been Minister of Foreign Affairs and although he is a member of the Green Party, he decided to run as an independent to attract a wider electorate from progressive and liberal sectors. He is also the first openly gay presidential candidate in Finland’s history. He is a politician well valued for his affable character and for the role he played in the government of the social democrat Sanna Marin. He was also key in the negotiations for NATO integration, which Finland achieved in record time, while neighboring Sweden is still waiting due to the obstacles Turkey and Hungary have put in place.
The big loser is the populist and Eurosceptic Halla-aho, with an anti-immigration speech that cost him a conviction for incitement to hatred, who had advanced in the polls in recent weeks. Ultra-nationalist, defender of traditional Finnish values, his party (formerly called True Finns) is part of the current right-wing government, after winning 20% of the vote in the last election.
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