Former conservative prime minister wins presidential election in Finland

Center-right and pro-EU politician Alexander Stubb wins 1st election after Finnish accession to NATO. He says he decided to run because of the war in Ukraine, which generated tensions on the country's border with Russia. Former conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb won the second round of the presidential elections in Finland this Sunday (11/02), defeating former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

The center-right politician, a former investment banker and European Union (EU) enthusiast, has secured a triumphant return to politics after a seven-year hiatus in which he lived abroad.

With 99.7% of the votes counted, Stubb had 51.6% of votes, against 48.3% for Haavisto. Around 4.3 million Finns were eligible to vote in the first election after the country became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Haavisto, a Green Party lawmaker who ran as an independent, conceded defeat and congratulated his rival on his victory.

Tensions with Russia

Stubb's return to politics was, by his own admission, motivated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I can assure you that this hypothesis was not a reality before the start of the war,” said the conservative, when announcing his candidacy in August last year.

The border between Finland and Russia is the longest in the European Union, at 1,340 kilometers long, which generates numerous tensions between the two countries.

Stubb, 55, has worked abroad in recent years, serving as vice president of the European Investment Bank and director of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His allies describe him as a multilingual, pro-Europe conservative. He sees himself as a moderate.

He will replace, from March 1st, President Sauli Niinistö, who served two terms as President. In Finland, the president has a six-year term, being responsible for foreign and security policy, in addition to being the supreme commander of the Armed Forces.

NATO membership

After decades of a policy of international neutrality, tensions generated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine led Finland to begin the process of joining NATO, becoming the 31st member state of the military alliance in April 2023.

At the end of November, Finland completely closed its land border with Russia to prevent refugees from other countries from continuing to arrive en masse into the country through Russian territory. Helsinki alleged that Moscow was promoting the flow of migrants across the border in an attempt to destabilize the country.

Helsinki accused Moscow of deliberately sending citizens from countries in Africa and the Middle East, such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Turkey and Somalia, to the border, allowing large numbers of people to cross without the necessary documents.

The decision to close the border was supported by Stubb and Haavisto. The two politicians, who previously headed the Finnish Foreign Ministry, share similar views on relations with Russia and called for new sanctions on Moscow over its war of aggression in Ukraine.

rc (AFP, Reuters)