Finns vote in the country’s first NATO-era presidential election on Sunday (28 January). Their choice is between liberal, centre-right and far-right candidates, all promising to take a much tougher stance approach to relations with Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine.
In the past, ensuring cordial relations with Moscow has been a key function of the Finnish presidential portfolio. Not this time, however, as the leading contenders in Sunday’s election compete with one another to prove how tough they will be in Helsinki’s future dealings with the Kremlin.
Finnish presidents play a key role when it comes to foreign and security policy, including representing the country at NATO meetings and acting as a Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces.
When Finland was admitted to NATO membership last year, ending seven decades of military non-alignment, Moscow responded with threats of “counter measures”.
Public anger about the invasion of Ukraine and concern over the surge in migrants arriving in the country via Russia led Helsinki to close its 1,340-km border with Russia to passenger traffic.
The new president replaces Sauli Niinistö, who is retiring and was known as the “Putin Whisperer” because of his close ties with the Russian leader. Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition, currently leading in the polls, insists the next president will be “a Western president in many ways”.
Far-right candidate Jussi Halla-aho of the Finns Party, third and gaining in the polls behind ex-prime minister Stubb and the liberal candidate Pekka Haavisto, is an EU critic and an anti-immigration hardliner. He has publicly called Russia “a rogue state” and wants to revoke Finnish citizenship from dual Russian-Finnish nationals.
Pro-European Stubb and two right-wing candidates have also come out in support of revoking dual citizenships.
Finland is concerned that Russia will start guiding migrants through the vast forests along the extensive border between the two countries, as previously happened along the Polish-Belarussian border.
“We must be prepared to enforce pushback at the border, that is, to refuse to accept asylum applications from people who most likely are not in acute need of international protection,” Halla-aho declared during a TV debate this week. While neither Stubb nor Haavisto mentioned pushbacks, each has endorsed the idea of protecting the border by forcible means if necessary.
