Green or conservative: the Finns face this choice on Sunday. The presidential election campaign brought the topic of nuclear weapons into the debate.
- Finland choose one on Sunday new president: Sauli Niinistö's term ends.
- In the Runoff election There are two heavyweights: former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
- Ukraine war overshadows the ballot: Even the deployment of nuclear weapons was an issue in the election campaign.
- This news ticker will be updated on Sunday (February 11) with the results of the presidential runoff election.
Helsinki – Within a good year and a half, Finland will replace the two defining faces at the top of the government and state: In the summer of 2023, the conservative Petteri Orpo replaced the Social Democrat Sanna Marin as head of government. Sauli Niinistö is now stepping down as president as per rotation. His successor could be either a Green or a Conservative.
The runoff election on Sunday (February 11th) will also be overshadowed by Ukraine war – and concerns about its eastern neighbor Russia. There have already been threats from Moscow. Stationing nuclear weapons in Finland also played a role in the election campaign between former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
Ukraine war overshadows Finland election: even the deployment of nuclear weapons was an issue
Orpo's party colleague Stubb was open to this scenario; “Nothing should be ruled out,” he told the broadcaster YLE. Haavisto rejected such mind games. The debate caused comparatively high waves. In any case, political scientist Matti Pesu was surprised in an interview with the same channel. He judged that the attention was actually “too great”: “We are talking about extremely theoretical questions here,” emphasized Pesu – although he admitted that nuclear weapons are an important part of NATO security policy. Finland joined the alliance in 2023.
Finland's presidential election
In Finland, the president is elected for a six-year term and, unlike in Germany, directly by the people. It also plays a more active political role than in many other European countries: one of its most important tasks is to decide, together with the government, on the country's foreign and security policy. However, he largely stays out of domestic politics.
The researcher from the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute made it clear: “It is forbidden to station nuclear weapons in Finland.” Similar laws also exist in NATO states such as Lithuania and Norway. The fact that nuclear weapons nevertheless became an issue sheds light on the debate in Finland. In his last New Year's speech, President Niinistö also called for more armaments – but also pushed for peace. Recently, the focus has also been on the border crossings with Russia. Finland recently closed this out of concern about suspected directed migration flows.
Stubb and Haavisto in Finland runoff election: Differences in nuances – unity on Russia
Otherwise, Stubb and Haavisto are not too far apart in terms of content. “I don’t think there will be a big change under either of them,” assesses University of Helsinki professor and political economy expert Jari Eloranta. “Stubb would be a very pro-European president who would probably place a lot of value on Anglo-American cooperation.”
Haavisto is also very pro-European, but a little more cosmopolitan. “He would perhaps focus a little more on Finland's role in the global south.” When it comes to Russia, Eloranta is certain that neither candidate will deviate from the previous line. He still expects a clear stance towards Russia. The war in Ukraine is “close” to NATO’s eastern border, warned Haavisto.
u Ulander/Lehtikuva/AP/dpa
Stubb and Haavisto are considered political heavyweights in Finland. Stubb was Prime Minister from mid-2014 to mid-2015 and held various ministerial posts before and after. As a candidate from Orpo's National Coalition Party, the 55-year-old received 27.2 percent of the vote in the first round of voting, 1.4 percentage points more than Haavisto. Most recently he was a professor at the European University Institute in Florence. He said in his podcast “Alex Talk” that he would miss the academic freedom to say whatever he wanted if he were elected. It feels very liberating to say things that a president could certainly never say.
He could now forfeit this freedom for the highest office in his country. “I think Stubb is definitely the favorite,” says Eloranta. Polls also see the conservatives ahead of Haavisto by a few percentage points. (fn)
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