Finland’s former PM to face diplomat in presidential run-off
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Finland's former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (left) and former prime minister Alexander Stubb will meet in the run-off election on Feb 11.
PHOTO: AFP
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HELSINKI - Finland’s presidential race
Mr Stubb took home about 27 per cent of the votes, followed by Mr Haavisto with about 26 per cent, the Justice Ministry said on Jan 28.
Mr Stubb and Mr Haavisto are set to go into a run-off on Feb 11.
Almost 75 per cent of the electorate voted, the biggest turnout in nearly two decades.
Voters in the newest member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) are selecting a top diplomat and supreme commander for the defence forces to guard the military alliance’s longest stretch of border against its main adversary, Russia.
At stake is who will succeed President Sauli Niinisto, 75, who cannot run again after serving two consecutive six-year terms.
The one seen as the most adept at steering foreign and security policy will likely appeal to voters.
The role of the president in leading Finland’s foreign policy grew in significance during Mr Niinisto’s second term after Russia’s unexpected all-out invasion of Ukraine
After a radical rethink, Finland joined Nato in 2023.
“For us, foreign and security policy is existential,” Mr Stubb, 55, said. “In that sense, we are quite unified in the big picture, whether it’s Nato membership or things linked to that.”
When Finland joined the US-led military alliance, Russia vowed a response.
That began in late 2023, when scores of asylum seekers began arriving at the 1,300km-long border separating the two countries.
The Finnish authorities soon termed the events a hybrid operation after determining that Russian officials were assisting the migrants to put pressure on the Nordic country.
Finland responded by closing checkpoints
Mr Haavisto, 65, said: “We are very aligned on the key security policy questions – Nato membership, Finland’s defence cooperation agreement with the US, and on being tough on the Russian border. It’s not a bad thing that Finns are so unanimous on the central foreign policy issues.”
The leadership contest has been the most riveting in decades, as Mr Stubb and Mr Haavisto went into Jan 28’s election night in a tight race with Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho from the nationalist Finns Party.
Mr Halla-aho finished the race with 19 per cent backing while Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn with about 15 per cent.
Mr Stubb has held all the top ministerial posts in Finland, including the finance and foreign affairs portfolios. Most recently a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, he has a PhD in international relations.
He is also an avid athlete, having completed numerous marathons and triathlons, including the celebrated Ironman World Championships.
As a teenager, he played ice hockey and golf, which took him to study at Furman University in South Carolina.
When he served as prime minister, he even faced criticism for allegedly prioritising sport over political responsibilities. The Swedish-speaking Finn communicates fluently in a number of languages and has published 16 books.
Mr Haavisto is running for president for a third time, having gone up against Mr Niinisto twice.
As foreign minister, the veteran diplomat steered Finland into Nato, navigating sensitive negotiations to make membership a reality. He also helped broker peace in Darfur as a special representative of the European Union.
Mr Haavisto is one of the early members of Finland’s Green Party and the only out gay candidate in the race.
He lists literature, Beetle cars and wooden boats as his hobbies, and has also gained popularity spinning records from the 1960s and 1970s under the pseudonym DJ Pexi, including at campaign events in recent weeks.
At the end of the night, Mr Stubb told his campaign team to work hard, be humble and play fair – while Mr Haavisto put out a plea for donations to help win over those voters whose candidates did not make it into the second round. BLOOMBERG
