former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb leads first round

He will face former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in the second round to be held on Sunday February 11.

Only two weeks left until we know the name of the next Finnish president. Former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto topped the poll in the first round of the presidential election in Finland on Sunday January 28.

Alexander Stubb dominated this first round with 27.2% of the votes, ahead of Pekka Haavisto (25.8%), a member of the Greens who ran as an independent. The latter asserted that “the differences will become clear as the campaign progresses”, which will end on Sunday February 11, date of the second round. Once mentioned as a possible spoilsport of this election, the far-right candidate of the Finns Party, Jussi Halla-aho, comes clearly behind the leading duo with 19% of the votes.

A vote dominated by tensions with Russia

The main issue of this election? The growing role of the president due to renewed tensions with neighboring Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. Endowed with more limited powers than the Prime Minister, the head of state nevertheless directs foreign policy in close cooperation with the government and, above all, he is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The outgoing president, Sauli Niinistö, who is stepping down after reaching the limit of two six-year terms, had prided himself on having maintained close ties with Vladimir Putin, before becoming one of the president’s most virulent opponents Russian in Europe. In this context, the presidential candidates all defended the independence of Finland and its new role as a member of NATO, underlines to AFP Hanna Wass, the vice-dean of the faculty of social sciences. from the University of Helsinki.