Who will be the next president will be decided in a second round of elections in Finland on Sunday and right now it looks like Alexander Stubb is just ahead of his opponent Pekka Haavisto. Still, Pekka Haavisto believes he can still surprise, at the same time that he himself was surprised that his sexual orientation became an issue in the election campaign.
– I think it shouldn’t be a big deal for the Finns, says Pekka Haavisto to TV4 news reporter Magnus Wennerberg, who is in Finland.
For Pekka Haavisto this is the third attempt to become president, in Lahti he campaigned together with his husband Antonio Flores. During the run-up to the election, a high-profile opinion poll showed that a third of Finns thought that Haavisto’s sexual orientation was a reason not to vote for him.
– I’m a little surprised by this and maybe it’s part of the campaign from the other side, but I think it shouldn’t be a big deal for the Finns, says Pekka Haavisto to TV4 news.
According to the latest opinion polls, Stubb leads Haavisto ahead of Sunday’s election, but Haavisto still says he has a positive feeling.
Think you’ll get over 50 percent on Sunday?
– I think that the atmosphere is quite good and that so many people out in the country are now about to vote so that we can have a surprise on Sunday, says Haavisto.
Stubb and Haavisto, who are both liberals, are now focusing on winning over the groups that two weeks ago voted for the candidates from the True Finns and the Center.