Xavier Colas Moscow
Moscow
Updated Sunday, January 28, 2024-11:36
Ukraine War Finland officially ends its neutrality with Russia
Finland
begins the process of electing its president today, Sunday. Early voting began earlier this month and the country's electoral commission reports that
more than 1.8 million people
, 44% of the census, have already exercised their right to vote. For decades the Nordic country maintained a policy of good relations with Russia, but the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced the country to urgently join NATO and now the candidates compete over who has a tougher stance with Moscow.
Some 4.5 million Finns have the right to vote. The two main contenders,
Alex Stubb
, of the right-wing National Coalition Party; and environmentalist
Pekka Haavisto
, have extensive experience in foreign policy. These are good credentials for a presidency with very limited powers but that retains key leadership in foreign relations. The office holder is also commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, which is now closely watched by
Russia
.
Finland still has universal military service for men and allows women to enlist.
Finns are concerned not only about the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also about the increase in migrants arriving in Finland through Russia, which led the Nordic country to close its entire 1,340-kilometer border with Russia to passenger traffic.
Alexander Stubb, former prime minister of the center-right National Coalition, is the favorite: recent polls give him between 22% and 27% support in the first round of the election. Former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, a member of the Green Party and running as an independent, also gained strong support in the polls, with support between 20% and 23%.
The result is highly disputed.
Recent polls have placed Stubb and Haavisto separated by a few percentage points, and as close as 0.6%, and with neither candidate likely to get more than 50% in the first round, the top two will head to a second round. round, February 11.
Jussi Halla-aho
, of the far-right Finns Party, is in third place in the polls and has made gains in recent polls.
The new president will replace the outgoing
Sauli Niinisto
, nicknamed the
Putin Charmer
for his previous close connections with the Russian leader. But this time, all candidates have promised to take a tough stance toward Russia if elected.
Both pro-European former Prime Minister Stubb, Halla-aho and two other right-wing candidates
agree on the idea of revoking dual citizenship for Russians
. But the radical Halla-aho has also called for tough measures to respond to what Helsinki calls Moscow's funneling of migrants to the Finnish border. The Kremlin has rejected the accusations, but many Finns see a pattern to what
Belarus
did with the Baltic countries and Poland in 2021, bringing migrants from the Middle East to its borders to embarrass the government coalitions that govern these countries.