The Finns will decide in the runoff election who will be their next president. Both candidates – former Prime Minister Stubb and ex-Foreign Minister Haavisto – agree on fundamental issues. Stubb is considered the slight favorite.
If you look at the election campaign in Finland with German glasses on, then you can be a bit surprised: On the one hand, because it is incredibly civilized and the candidates, with typical Nordic reserve, rarely say bad words about the competition. On the other hand, because so much personal stuff goes into the election campaign. Candidates tell anecdotes from their lives and their partners are also interviewed and examined.
“The best thing about Finland is the salmon soup”
And so the viewer of the public broadcaster yle finds out what candidate Pekka Haavisto’s husband likes most about Finland. Antonio Flores is originally from Ecuador.
“The best thing about Finland is the salmon soup. And of course the sauna, I like that a lot. When I moved to Finland, I didn’t have any family here. That’s why I’m very close with my mother-in-law. And the worst thing in Finland is November. “
His partner Haavisto is a member of the Green Party in Finland and is running against the conservative Alexander Stubb from the Coalition Party in the runoff election. During the election campaign, the Finns learned from Stubb that his wife doesn’t like it when he eats licorice sweets near her – because of the noise. And Stubb, on the other hand, doesn’t like being interrupted by his wife.
Both are in love Fundamental questions Some
But now to the content. Both candidates are very experienced politicians. Alexander Stubb was, among other things, Finland’s Prime Minister and is considered clever and rhetorically skilled. Pekka Haavisto is a founding member of the Finnish Greens and was most recently foreign minister in the government under the resigned Sanna Marin.
Politically, the two candidates are not that far apart – and they agree on fundamental issues. Both are strong supporters of Finland’s accession to NATO and the security policy stance towards Russia.
Alexander Stubb, candidate of the National Coalition Party (right), and Pekka Haavisto, candidate of the Social Movement, go into the runoff election. Stubb is considered the slight favorite.
Transporting nuclear weapons via Finland?
You have to go into the details to notice differences. For example, the conservative Stubb would agree to the transport of nuclear weapons across Finnish territory in the event of a crisis, but Haavisto would not. Both support Finnish climate policy – the Green politician Haavisto would also take part in protests as president: “I would take part in a climate demonstration or give a speech there.”
Stubb from the conservative Coalition Party defines the role of Finland’s president differently: “I would be a little more cautious. A president is not an activist, but rather an actor, and that’s how I would be work.”
Responsible for parts of the external and Security policy
Both are fighting for half of the votes – because in the first round they went to the seven other candidates who are no longer included in the runoff election. Observers assume that voters from the conservative camp and right-wing populists are more likely to vote for Stubb, while left-wing voter groups are more likely to vote for Haavisto.
Polls currently show the conservative Stubb slightly ahead. In the end, the candidate who has at least 50 percent of voters behind him becomes Finland’s new president.
The office is different from that of the Federal President. While the German head of state represents, the Finnish president is responsible for parts of foreign and security policy. He is also Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces.