An election poster photographed ahead of the Finnish presidential election on Thursday, January 18, 2024 in Espoo, Finland. The first round of voting for the presidential election will take place on Sunday, January 28th, but the early voting period will run from January 17th to January 18th. 23. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva, via AP)
HELSINKI (AP) – Finns will vote Sunday to elect a new president during unprecedented times. The Nordic country is now a NATO member and its eastern border with Russia is closed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both of which were almost unthinkable a few years ago.
Unlike most European countries, the Finnish president has executive power in shaping foreign and security policy, especially when dealing with countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia, and China.
“It is clear that the president’s main task is to steer foreign policy,” said Teivo Teivainen, a professor of world politics at the University of Helsinki.
Approximately 4.5 million people are eligible to vote for Finland’s new head of state from among nine candidates, six men and three women, whose second six-year term expires in March. President Sauli Niinistö, who is extremely popular, can choose his successor. He is not eligible for re-election.
Recent opinion polls show former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, 55, and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, as the frontrunners in Sunday’s first round of voting. No candidate is expected to receive more than 50% of the vote, and the campaign will move to a run-off in February.
Mr Stubb, who led Finland’s government in 2014-2015, and Mr Haavisto, who is running for the third time, are both estimated to receive 23-27% of the vote, followed by Mr Jussi, the speaker of parliament and a far-right politician. About 18% of idiots. Olli Rehn, Governor of the Bank of Finland, was expected to receive around 14% of the vote.
A quick look at the map shows why foreign and security policy are important political topics in this northern European country of 5.6 million people. Finland shares her 1,340 km (832 miles) border with Russia.
Candidate debates on television and in media coverage have mainly focused on Finland’s new role as a NATO member, as well as the situation in neighboring Russia and its implications for Finland’s security. Finland is one of Europe’s top providers of military and humanitarian aid to Kiev, and the war in Ukraine, as well as the war between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, are also important topics in the election campaign.
Professor Teivainen said that the overall influence of the head of state in Finland has strengthened due to NATO membership and the increased importance of security issues in recent years, especially due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has had a severe impact on Finns. He said that
Helsinki will join NATO along with its Nordic neighbor Sweden in May 2022, abandoning decades of military non-alignment that guaranteed pragmatic and friendly relations with Moscow after World War II. selected. This government decision, supported by Niinistö and strongly supported by the people, was a direct result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which began on February 24 of the same year.
Finland became the 31st member of the Western military alliance last April, much to the annoyance of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
The escalation of war just 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Finland’s border, a NATO member, has prompted the president, who is also the supreme commander of Finland’s armed forces, to “emphasize security policy aspects” in his mission. “We are working hard,” Teivainen said.
“The threat of war is now more concrete,” he says.
Compared to the last election in 2018, Finland’s geopolitical position, which has maintained a careful balance between East and West for decades, has changed completely, with presidential candidates It focuses on the new role of the nation as a nation. NATO frontline country.
Under the Finnish constitution, the president decides foreign and security policy together with the government. He also appoints the prime minister and government commissioners, signs bills, and acts as the nation’s moral leader on important issues.
The practice, which has been the norm during the reign of Finnish President Niinisto since 2012, is that the prime minister (currently Petteri Orupo) focuses on EU issues in the field of foreign policy, while the president deals with negotiations with other countries and deals with domestic issues. is hardly involved. Politics.
Mr. Niinistö is seeking dialogue with his compatriots in Moscow, Washington and Beijing to maintain close ties and help the Nordic country punch above its weight and draw attention to its position. , has earned praise among Finns.
Since Moscow’s attack on Ukraine began about two years ago, relations between the Finnish president and President Putin have ceased. Moscow has harassed Finland with a variety of retaliatory measures, from cyber attacks to threats against increased Russian military activity in the Baltic region, citing its NATO membership and Helsinki’s increased military cooperation with Washington.
Niinistö told Finnish public broadcaster YLE earlier this month: “It is extremely important to maintain ties not only with the United States but also with China and, as soon as it becomes practical, with Russia.” .
Late last year, Finland closed its border with Russia after around 1,300 migrants without proper documents or visas arrived across the border, just months after Finland joined NATO.
Such “hybrid warfare” has led Helsinki to suspect that Moscow is trying to undermine Northern Europe’s security by sending illegal immigrants across its borders, a claim the Kremlin denies. .
Finland serves as the northern outer border of the European Union and is an important part of NATO’s northeastern flank.
Since December 15, all eight Finnish-Russian border crossings have been closed to passengers. The South East Railway checkpoint for freight trains at Vainikkala remains open for now.