Antonio Flores, husband of presidential candidate Pekka Haavisto (green), believes that he would find something meaningful to do as the president's spouse. The newly established hairdressing company would remain, even if working there should perhaps be put on hold. HS interviewed the spouses of both presidential candidates.
Presidential candidate Pekka Haaviston (green) spouse Antonio Flores says that he is used to the public and is ready to represent alongside Haavisto if he is elected president.
“Of course, then there would be more international representation, but we have already been with Peka in many places when he was foreign minister,” says Flores.
“I feel that I am ready and I trust that I can represent this country.”
Flores, 45, took a big step in the fall and founded his own hairdressing business in the center of Helsinki after working for many years as a hairdresser in a salon owned by another. She thinks that as the president's spouse, she could still keep her company, even though she might not be able to work there then.
Seven people work in Flores' company: hairdressers, make-up artists and one beautician.
So what would you fill your days with as a spouse, in addition to representative duties?
Flores is interested in opportunities to participate in various charity projects, especially to increase the well-being of children and young people.
In addition, Flores can do more than cut hair: he designs clothes, among other things. Before the corona pandemic, Flores was involved in German TV productions as a masker. This job still interests him, but because of his own store and Haavisto's campaign, he has had to decline the job offers.
After Haavisto made it to the second round of the presidential election, Flores cleared his calendar for two weeks. He participates in the campaign and is involved in Haavisto's bus tours because he wants to support his spouse.
In addition, he is interesting to people. At the opening of the second round in Helsinki's Narinkkatori, one if the other wanted to take a selfie with Flores.
Janne Arponen wanted to meet and photograph Antonio Flores when Pekka Haavisto's second round campaign started in Helsinki's Narinkkator. The public got to see Haavisto's tour bus.
At home according to Flores, we don't talk about politics, but he watches Haavisto's performances and gives feedback.
“When he comes home, it's a safe haven. That you don't have to talk about the same things as at work.”
In addition, he styles Haavisto both in terms of hair and clothing: Haavisto was going to put a light blue tie on the election supervisors, but Flores changed it to a more festive red one in his opinion. He is amused by the idea that someone took that as a political message to left-wing voters.
Flores sits opposite
in a perfectly fitted light gray suit and speaks fluently after getting started. The entire interview is conducted in Finnish. He says that even twelve years ago in Haavisto's first campaign it was difficult to be interviewed, the questions often went by, but now Finnish feels natural.
With Haavisto, they speak English at home out of old habit, although the share of Finnish has increased slightly since the beginning.
Antonio Flores escorted Pekka Haavisto, who was in a hurry to the filming of Levyraad, to the car last Wednesday.
Flores and Haavisto's love story has been told many times in public: In 1997, Haavisto was on a backpacking trip in South America when he met Flores in Bogotá, Colombia, who had moved to the million-dollar city from Ecuador.
Haavisto was the 39-year-old Finnish environment minister at the time, Flores was twenty years younger than him.
“Sometimes I've thought that when you're in the right place and at the right time and you find that person… it's fate.”
Flores was in close correspondence with Haavisto after the meeting. Haavisto tricked him about the weather in Finland, Flores says: In addition to letters, postcards came from Finland, where it was always summer in Helsinki and the sun was shining.
“I knew it was cold, but this cold! I still have those postcards and letters. Sometimes I get nostalgic when I look at them. It's been so many years.”
Haavisto went to see him, the interest grew, and finally Flores went on a tourist trip to Finland. It wasn't meant to stay. He had a return ticket, but the return was unused.
“Then it was nice when I got to know his mother and his family and there was more time to get to know him anyway. That's when I decided that it's okay, this is a good country to live alongside a good man.”
In the end, moving to Finland didn't seem like such a big deal as leaving Ecuador for Colombia.
Flores had thought that Haavisto “is working in an office somewhere”. It was a surprise that the boyfriend was a well-known politician.
“I think it's good to get to know a person as he is. And it doesn't matter what you do.”
Haavisto and Flores registered their relationship in 2002, and Flores has been a Finnish citizen since 2007.
In addition to working as a hairdresser, Flores has studied audiovisual communication at Omnia. Sometimes he was also a flight attendant at Ryanair. I am interested in learning new things.
“I've had such a spouse that he's always been there and supported me in the things I've wanted to do. All craziness, what I've come up with,” says Flores about Haavisto.
In the 2012 presidential election campaign, Flores himself became public. Not everything that emerged was positive: a drunken driver in Ecuador and a fight in a nightclub in Helsinki were found in the background.
Flores says that he no longer goes out for entertainment in Helsinki as much as before.
“Publicity has made it so that you have to be very careful where to go and what to say. And I don't drink much alcohol at the moment. I was young when these things happened and I've learned about life since then.”
In December, Flores said For Iltalehti, that he is one of the victims of the Vastaamo data breach, i.e. one of those whose patient information fell into the wrong hands in the data breach. In an interview, he said that he applied to be a customer after he had behaved violently towards two women on a Swedish ship in 2014.
Flores think that having an openly homosexual person as president will no longer be a significant issue for the majority of voters in 2024.
“I think it has changed quite a lot and is not so special anymore. Different opinions must be respected.”
He brings up foreign examples, the one who served as Prime Minister of Luxembourg for a long time Xavier Bettel and the President of Latvia by Edgars Rinkēvičs.
What if Haavisto doesn't become president this time either? Will there still be a fourth company in six years?
“I think this was it. But of course if the fourth time comes, I will be by his side and support his decision.”
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