Conservative Stubb will be Finland’s new president after narrow victory in second round

Conservative Kokumas party candidate Alexander Stubb, 55, is positioning himself to become Finland’s new president in the second round of the presidential election on Sunday, while vote counting has still not been completed. Stubb started as a favorite in the elections, giving her a slight lead against the former Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, who presented herself as an independent candidate despite being affiliated with the Green Party. According to public broadcaster YLE, with 98% of the count, Stubb would have won the second round of the presidential election with 51.7% of the vote, while Haavisto had won 48.3%.

The presidential elections in Finland did not arouse the interest that these elections have aroused for years, both nationally and internationally. In an election clearly marked by the Nordic country’s recent entry into NATO, both candidates in the second round have shown themselves to have very similar positions on foreign policy issues, with unwavering support for Ukraine and a stance against the current Kremlin. Marked by maintaining a strong position. ,

These elections have important relevance because, unlike other European countries, the figure of the Finnish President is not merely representative. Instead, the presidential office has only gained political importance since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. As its main task over the next six years, Stubb will be in charge of directing the Nordic country’s foreign policy together with the government, except for government matters. The European Union, which is managed by the Prime Minister. National security powers also fall to the President, who is at the same time the senior commander of the armed forces. Furthermore, since Finland became a member of NATO last year, Stubb will be the person representing Helsinki’s interests at defense alliance meetings.

In this way, the new President of the Nordic country now has the responsibility of replacing former President Sauli Niinistö after a twelve-year mandate to increase tensions with Russia and strengthen military and defense cooperation with NATO countries. Historically, the President of Finland has been in charge of maintaining cordial diplomatic relations between Russia and the Atlantic alliance bloc. In fact, Niinistö has certainly been the European head of government who has met with Vladimir Putin most frequently in recent years, but he is also one of the figures who has expressed himself most forcefully in rejecting the invasion of Ukraine. Has expressed. But since this Sunday’s election, Finnish foreign policy has entered a new phase that will have to be led by a new president.

Foreign policy and security, key issues in the elections

In this context, national security has been the key issue of the election, and in particular, the threat posed by Moscow. Finns, in addition to being angered by the invasion of Ukraine, are concerned by a surge in immigrants coming through Russia, leading the Nordic country to completely close the border in the east of the country since December last month. Thus, the presidential election campaign has not been at all marked by typical debates of the country’s internal politics (such as economic stability or union strikes), but rather the candidates have focused on the position towards Russia and the country’s new role. NATO. In this sense, it has been difficult to find differences between the two candidates who went to the second round, since basically both agree on most foreign policy issues.

A different profile, but same foreign policy

However, political experts and analysts have highlighted that the character, personality and political experience of candidates have been far more relevant factors for voters.

Thus, with Alexander Stubb, Finland has elected a president with a tough profile, who is representative of the liberal wing of the conservative party that now rules. In an interview for Diario.es, political science researcher Aino Tihonen of the University of Tampere explained that Stubb “put more emphasis on the EU and Finland’s relations with the United States, while Haavisto focused on brokered peace and the United Nations. Is.” , Tihonen also noted that Stubb “takes a more NATO-centric stance.” Indeed, during the campaign, Stubb has been more open to the possibility of Finland hosting NATO troops permanently, or transporting or storing nuclear weapons in the country, while Haavisto has positioned himself clearly against these points. Have done.

Stubb is a well-known political figure in the circles of the EU institutions, as he has been recognized as a true believer in support of EU enlargement and deepening cooperation between member states. His political career began 20 years ago as a Member of the European Parliament. After this phase, he returned to Finland where he held several ministerial posts, and briefly, even the post of Prime Minister between 2014 and 2015. After this period, Stubb took up a position at the European Investment Bank and in recent years he has been away from politics. Stubb himself has said that the decision to return to the political front line and run as a candidate was marked by his concern about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In an interview with Reuters a month earlier, Stubb said that “politically I will not have any relations with the President of Russia or any Russian political leader until the war in Ukraine ends.” Stubb’s passion for physically demanding sports such as triathlon has also reinforced his tough-guy image. In addition, the new president also likes to talk about his patriotism and his family on Instagram and TikTok, often mentioning that his son is currently serving in the army in the city of Raseborg.

Pekka Haavisto, on the other hand, has presented himself during the campaign as an environmentalist candidate and a defender of less combative but equally tough diplomacy with Russia. Haavisto stood as a candidate in the presidential elections for the third time since 2012. This time, his political credentials were that of having been Foreign Minister during the previous government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, which was related to the country’s entry into NATO. But Haavisto was also known in her personal life for her role as a DJ and her marriage to Ecuadorian-born hairdresser Antonio Flores. Precisely, according to a survey by the University of Helsinki, a third of Finns surveyed said they did not vote for him because of his sexual orientation, an issue that has caused a widespread stir in the country’s media.

The person who dropped out of the election race in the first round on January 28 was Finns Party candidate Jussi Halla-aho. There was speculation about the possibility that the far-right, anti-immigration party that is currently part of the government might advance to a second round of elections. However, its controversial candidate Halla-Aho, a populist and Eurosceptic, was eliminated in the first round after coming third with 19 percent of the votes.