Niinistö used his speech to comment on current issues, not to sum up his own legacy.
President Sauli Niinistön the last New Year's speech reminded me of hope in the midst of world wars and crises, says a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Iro Sarkkä for STT.
Among other things, Niinistö stated that recently dark news and forecasts have taken over the space, so that perhaps weak signs of better things are easily missed.
“We probably all hoped that the new year would start under happier stars. However, let's keep in mind that even the heaviest clouds evaporate – yes, this will become clearer”, Niinistö stated.
According to Särkä, the fact that it was Niinistö's last New Year's speech as president was heard quite a bit in the speech.
“It wasn't as strong a farewell speech as you might have expected,” he says.
The speech was more focused on this time and looking to the future, not tying together Niinistö's legacy.
“He spoke decisively and reassuringly, as if he would continue as president. Only in the last part did he thank for the past years and that he has been allowed to act on the cause of Finland”, says Särkkä.
A roach according to Niinistö approached the security political situation from a global perspective. He highlighted, among other things, climate change and the division of the world.
Niinistö also discussed how Finland positions itself in the new world political situation.
“The basic message was that even though Finland has joined NATO, Finland's foreign policy will continue and is built sustainably on the values and choices we have made in the past,” says Särkkä.
This was reflected in how Niinistö emphasized the EU and the Nordic countries as Finland's key reference groups.
At the same time, Niinistö pointed out that the Europeans should bear more responsibility for the development of their defense. Niinistö has talked about this before.
“He talked about identifying the facts and being responsible. It's not enough to make promises, it's the actions” that decide the direction.
Niinistö also spoke about the competence of Finns and that it is something to be proud of and take care of, says Särkkä.
The president also stated that the Finnish model is now getting a lot of attention and that “becoming Finnish” might be a good goal for many in terms of overall security.
“He brought up that other countries are looking in Finland's direction and what they can learn from Finnish choices and Finnish security thinking,” says Särkkä.
Anything According to Särkä, there was nothing really surprising in the speech. However, he draws attention to what was missing from Niinistö's speech.
The first is that although Niinistö started from a global perspective, he did not talk about Finland's global partners and their importance, but strongly connected Finland to his current reference group.
“He didn't talk about what kind of NATO country Finland should develop into. I think it was a conscious decision”, because Niinistö was involved in the NATO process and completed it.
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