Here are five things we know about the Nordic nation’s new president.
advertisementAfter two votes and a particularly close race, Finland has a new president.
Alexander Stubbe of the right-wing National Union party (known locally as Kokooms) defeated left-wing Green politician Pekka Haavisto in Sunday’s vote.
Here are five things we know about the Nordic nation’s new president.
1. Alex Stubbe comes from the liberal wing of the party and is pro-European, pro-marriage equality, and avowed internationalist. He has previously served as party leader, prime minister, and foreign minister, as well as a member of the Brussels parliament. He speaks Finnish, Swedish, English, French and German fluently. Mr Stubb, an avid sportsman who attended university in the United States on a golf scholarship, was photographed wearing tight Lycra sportswear and competing in Ironman competitions and skiing. There will be no shortage of such activities, but once in office there may be less time for such activities. He was installed in the presidential palace in Helsinki.
2. Stubbe says he wants to be a president who can unify the country. His party, Kokomus, runs a coalition government with far-right Finns, and celebrities with controversial homophobic positions and politicians convicted of racism-related offenses are running a coalition during the presidential campaign. This is no small order considering that I have expressed my support for him. A recent Finnish survey found that 40% of Mr. Stubbe’s supporters would not vote for his rival, Mr. Haavisto, because he is gay. Meanwhile, another survey found that 30% of Finnish voters said they consider a candidate’s sexuality when voting. There is much work to be done to unify.
3. Alex Stubbe has never been shy about using social media and is known for his love of taking selfies with his supporters, especially celebrities. “Social media has always been a spontaneous means of communication for me,” Stubbe wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in October 2021. “I’m in control of my account. I’m aware of the risks. I’ve been burned many times.” He said he used social media to communicate despite the risks. He said that is better than no communication at all.
4. Stubb’s 2018 tweet with his “old friend and colleague” Sergei Lavrov continues, calling those who tried to block Russian investment in a Finnish nuclear power plant “Russophobes.” I apologize for what I did.
4. Stubs must stay humble. One of the criticisms he has received repeatedly in the past is that his attitude is arrogant and entitled. In this campaign, as he worked hard to appear thoughtful and cooperative with his opponents, that tendency has diminished significantly, but he needs to maintain it for at least six years (already At this stage many political observers are doubtful that he will run for a second time (term).
5. Mr. Stubb has a major role to play in succeeding President Sauli Niinistö, who has enjoyed very high approval ratings from the Finnish people during his two 12-year terms in office. Stubbe was no doubt drawn to the race by the resurgence of attention to the Finnish presidency after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Finland’s negotiations to join NATO. The joke among the Helsinki press corps is that the most dangerous place in Finland is between Alex Stubbe and the television cameras. While that may be true, there are also a number of very mundane presidential duties that Stubb has to fulfill away from the spotlight. And he loves having afternoon coffee with pensioners and touring factories and garrisons as he jets off onto the world stage, smiling with his characteristic big teeth at the television cameras. You need to show that you are equally interested.
At the Nordic Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Denmark in 2011, he said during an open mic that the meeting was “shit” and a representative from the delegation said, “Our ministers, through their body language and words, made it clear that Nordic issues were not an issue. I told him that there was no such thing,” he famously chided him. He speaks highly of his agenda. ” Alex Stubbe is going to have to tackle boring and boring stuff with as much enthusiasm as he revels in the attention from the world’s media.