Several Russian news agencies and newspapers quoted the first round of the Finnish presidential election.
The coalition candidate Alexander Stubb and the candidate of the electorate association, supported by the Greens Pekka Haavisto continue to the second round of the presidential election.
Russian newspaper Appealnews agencies Interfax and Tass and online media from St. Petersburg Fontanka reported on the result of the NATO-Finland presidential election and reminded Stubbs and Haavisto of the Russia line.
– Already during the election campaign, the top candidates talked about continuing the anti-Russian course and supporting Ukraine, Interfax wrote.
The state news agency Tass also reports on the Finnish presidential election.
Tass already told beforethat Stubb and Haavisto, the early favorites for the Finnish presidential elections, have built their presidential campaign around anti-Russian politics.
Tass refers to an interview that Haavisto gave to the Guardian, in which Haavisto talked about preserving Finland’s unity and fighting external threats.
According to Tassi, Haavisto was referring to Russia as an external threat.
About Stubb, Tass wrote that as president, Stubb would not start a dialogue with the Russian president or the Russian political leadership until Russia withdraws from Ukraine.
The borderline comments of the candidates were also noticed
Russian Interfax emphasized that Stubb, unlike Haavisto, is a long-term and active supporter of Finland’s NATO membership.
– He supports Finland’s cooperation with the United States. He also spoke in favor of establishing a more European NATO and that Finland should take more responsibility for defense, the Russian news agency Interfax writes in its story about the elections.
Opposition newspaper Medusa according to pre-favorites Haavisto was the Kremlin’s preferred candidate for a long time because of his line regarding the deployment of a milder nuclear weapon.
Stubb has said that it makes no sense to rule out that nuclear weapons would be imported through Finland. Haavisto sees no need to change the law that prohibits the transit of nuclear weapons.
However, according to the Russian media, Haavisto has a more drastic line on the border closure issue.
– Haavisto believes that border crossers coming from third countries is a Russian-engineered project. Haavisto would keep the borders closed as long as necessary, Interfax wrote.
Also Sari Essayahin (qd.) border comments were noticed in the Russian media.
– According to Essayah, Russia is to blame for the border closure, Fontanka writes.
The state media Tass mentioned separately that only the left alliance is among the candidates for the presidential election Lee Andersson did not support a complete border closure.
The Putin whisperer doesn’t get a follower
According to the Vedomosti newspaper, the president of Finland has a special role as head of state in the country’s foreign and security policy.
The president of Finland represents the country in the military alliance NATO and acts as commander-in-chief of the defense forces.
75-year-old Niinistö has served as the president of Finland for 12 years. Several Russian media characterized Niinistö’s relations with the president to Vladimir Putin warm.
– Western media used the nickname “Putin’s whisperer” for Niinistö until 2022.
– None of the nine candidates wants to inherit Niinistö’s nickname, Fontanka reports.
According to the Russian opposition newspaper Meduza, as president of Finland, Niinistö skillfully avoided pitfalls in his relations with Russia.
– It did not mean that Finland tolerated everything that the Kremlin did. In 2014, Finland condemned the occupation of the Crimean peninsula and joined the EU sanctions against Russia, Medusa wrote.
According to Meduza, the greatest achievement of Niinistö’s presidency was Putin and the then president of the United States Donald Trump’s hosting the meeting in Helsinki in 2018.
Haavisto’s sexual orientation and Halla-aho’s Ukraine project were noticed
Haavisto’s personality seems to be of interest in Russia, where the Kremlin has recently tightened laws regarding gender and sexual minorities.
– Former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who belongs to the Green Party, is openly gay and a member of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fontanka wrote in his article about the Finnish elections.
Alexander Stubb is reported in the Russian media as the prime minister of Finland in 2014–2015.
– In 2017, Stubb announced that he was leaving politics once and for all. He returned to politics because of the events in Ukraine, Fontanka characterized.
In the big article about the Finnish presidential election in the St. Petersburg newspaper Fontanka, the third-place finisher in the presidential race was also mentioned Jussi Halla-aho (ps.).
According to Meduza and Fontanka, Halla-aho speaks excellent Russian.
In his big election story, Fontanka also remembered to mention Halla-aho’s special Ukraine project.
According to the media, in January 2023 MP Halla-aho paid for the text “For Finland’s freedom” to be written on a Ukrainian grenade.
Fontanka also remembered Halla-aho’s comments that killing Russian soldiers is right and necessary.
As expected, none of the candidates received more than half of the votes, so the future president will not be known until two weeks from now, on Sunday.
Stubb won the first round of the election with about 27 percent of the vote. Haavisto’s support, on the other hand, is just under 26 percent.