The two finalists in the vote supported tougher sanctions against neighboring Russia and a rapprochement with NATO, in the context of the war in Ukraine.
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His opponent granted his “congratulations to the 13th president of Finland”. Former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the Finnish presidential election on Sunday February 11, in a vote marked by tensions with neighboring Russia.
After the counting of 98.3% of the ballots, Alexander Stubb received 51.7% of the votes against Pekka Haavisto, a member of the Greens but an independent candidate. Some 70.7% of the 4.3 million voters came to vote in this second round.
The question of nuclear weapons
Endowed with limited powers compared to the Prime Minister, the head of state, elected for six years, directs the country’s foreign policy in close cooperation with the government. He is also supreme commander of the armed forces. A role which has become even more important with the war in Ukraine and the entry into NATO of Finland, which shares 1,340 kilometers of border with Russia.
The finalists in the vote, both former foreign ministers, share the same position vis-à-vis Moscow, advocating a strengthening of sanctions. The difference between the candidates was notably on the question of the storage and transport of nuclear weapons in Finland: Pekka Haavisto does not want to authorize them, while Alexander Stubb says he does not want to exclude “no part” of NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy.
