The result of the first round of the Finnish presidential election has attracted the attention of the world.
For example Financial Times, Politico, France 24, Bloomberg, GuardianReuters, ABC News, CNBC News and many other international media reported on the result of the first round on Sunday.
The coalition candidate Alexander Stubb and the greens and support association Pekka Haavisto continue to the second round of elections.
The Finnish presidential elections are now of interest to the world, because as the head of state, the Finnish president has an exceptional role in the country’s foreign and security policy.
The president of Finland represents the country in the military alliance NATO and heads the defense forces. According to foreign media, the powers of the Finnish president are broader than in many other countries.
Nordic countries: Stubb is the favorite
The actual election day for the second round is next week Sunday, February 11, and the election result will be confirmed three days later on Wednesday, February 14, but the Swedish media is already predicting Stubb’s victory.
– If the editors elected the president of Finland, then Stubb would have already been declared president, says the correspondent Pirjo Auvinen in Swedish media news, radio news.
For example, Dagens Nyheter introduced the presidential candidates Stubb in their big article.
Svenska Dagbladet has also described Stubb as a big favorite.
Swedish media analyzes predict that the votes of the center and basic Finns will go to Stubbs in the second round.
Also the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK characterized Stubb as a clear favorite on Sunday evening, when the results of the first round of the presidential election were announced.
In the first round, the Coalition’s candidate Stubb received 27.2 percent support. On the other hand, Haavisto of the Greens and supporters’ association reached 25.8 percent.
Estonia: Relations between neighboring countries will not change
Estonian Broadcasting Company of EER According to Russia, because of the attack, Finland abandoned its traditional policy of neutrality and balance between East and West.
– In 2023, Finland joined NATO and signed the DCA agreement, which facilitates the operation of American troops in Finland and enables the storage of their weapons and supplies on Finnish soil, EER writes.
Estonian Postman writes that the election of Haavisto or Stubb as president does not affect Estonians or Finnish-Estonian relations, because Estonia also belongs to the military alliance NATO.
Britain: The presidential election was overshadowed by geopolitical drama
British Broadcasting Corporation the BBC according to the first round of the Finnish presidential election went smoothly and major scandals were avoided.
According to the BBC, the claims of supporters of basic Finns about the smearing of Jussi Halla-aho in the media during the elections shook Finland.
British of the Guardian According to
United States: Finland is known for its high level of preparedness
According to the American media, the most important themes of the first round of the presidential election were foreign and security policy issues, Russia policy and increasing security cooperation with the United States, and military aid to Ukraine.
According to the American media, the Finnish president has exceptional powers to influence the country’s foreign and security policy compared to other countries.
The president of Finland acts as the commander-in-chief of the army and represents the country in NATO. According to Uutistoimisto AP, the president of Finland can influence the relations between Finland and the great powers, such as the relations with the United States, China and Russia.
Economic magazine Financial Times reminded that Finland is known around the world for its high level of preparedness for the entire society.
– Russia has recently tested Finland’s border security by sending migrants to the border. The damage to the gas pipeline and data cable in the Baltic Sea has also increased Finland’s readiness.
According to FT, Finland’s preparation is understandable, because Finland and Russia have a common border of almost 1,340 kilometers.
Germany: Finland’s presidential elections are NATO elections
The importance of Finland’s NATO membership was also emphasized in Germany during the presidential election.
Deutsche Welle according to Finland’s presidential elections will be held in an exceptional time, when the Nordic countries’ relations with Russia have weakened after the country’s attack on Ukraine in 2022.
– The candidates have promised a strict line on Russia, writes DW.
According to the German media, Finland decided to give up its neutrality and joined NATO in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Russia: Finland gets an anti-Russian president
Russia is looking for a president Sauli Niinistön the end of the season.
Several Russian media have characterized Niinistö’s relations with President Vladimir Putin as warm. Niinistö was even nicknamed “Putin’s whisperer” until 2022.
According to the Russian media, regardless of the winner of the election, Finland will get an anti-Russian president
– Already during the election campaign, the leading candidates talked about continuing the anti-Russian course and supporting Ukraine, Interfax wrote.
The Russian news agency Tass reported that Stubb and Haavisto, the early favorites for the Finnish presidential election, have built their presidential election campaign around anti-Russian politics.
Sources: AP, Reuters