Finland, new NATO member, votes for new president to guide policy in neighboring Russia

Voters in Finland will choose their next president from two experienced politicians on February 11, but their main task will be to make the country a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He will be at the helm of Nordic foreign and security policy.

Former centre-right Prime Minister Alexander Stubbe, 55, and former green-leftist Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, largely agree on Finland’s foreign policy and security priorities.

These include maintaining a hard line against Russia and its current leadership, strengthening security ties with Washington, and the need to support Ukraine at both military and civilian levels. Finland shares her 1,340 km (832 mi) border with Russia.

Unlike most European countries, the Finnish president holds executive powers, working with the government to develop foreign and security policy, particularly regarding countries outside the European Union, such as the United States, Russia, and China.

The head of state also commands the military, but this is due to the current security environment in Europe and the changing geopolitical situation of Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023 in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine the previous year. This is especially important.

Mr Stubb, a conservative National Union Party politician who led the government from 2014 to 2015 and held several cabinet posts before that, won 27.2% of the vote in the first round of elections on January 28. He won the top spot and became the leading candidate for the presidential election.

Haavisto, who was runner-up in the first round, was Finland’s top diplomat from 2019 to 2023 and the main negotiator for NATO membership. Haavisto, a former United Nations conflict mediator and avid environmental activist, received 25.8% of the votes in the first round. This is his third time running for president. He is a former leader of the Green League, but is running as an independent.

The final days of the campaign revealed small differences in style and approach between the candidates.

Mr. Stubbe and Mr. Haavisto differ on the hypothetical issue of whether Finland should allow the shipment of allied nuclear weapons within its territory.

“Nuclear weapons are a strong element of our deterrence and security. We signed the NATO agreement without any restrictions,” Stubb told The Associated Press on Saturday during an election event on the outskirts of the capital, Helsinki. But “we (Stubbe and Herbist) also agree that no one is offering us nuclear weapons…We don’t want any nuclear weapons.”

Haavisto said on Saturday that he did not support shipping nuclear weapons through Finland in a crisis situation. His country of 5.6 million people occupies a large part of NATO’s northeastern flank and is the European Union’s outer border in the north.

“I don’t think there was a need to transport nuclear weapons to Finland or over Finland. As I saw during the NATO negotiations, NATO’s current nuclear policy is well established and there is no need to change it.” he said.

In November, Helsinki closed all eight official border crossings with its eastern neighbor, claiming Russia was using migrants to destabilize Finland in an alleged “hybrid war.” Both Mr Stubb and Mr Haavisto support the measures of Prime Minister Petteri Orupo’s centre-right government.

A runoff election was necessary because no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round of voting on January 28th.

More than 4 million people are eligible to vote. The winner will succeed highly popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March. Niinistö is not eligible for re-election.

Finland’s head of state is expected to distance himself from day-to-day politics and have little involvement in domestic political conflicts.