Voters in Finland were electing a new president Sunday at an unprecedented time for the Nordic nation that is now a NATO member with its eastern border with Russia closed — two things almost unthinkable a few years ago.
Polls across the country opened at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).
Unlike in most European countries, the president of Finland holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy, particularly when dealing with countries outside the European Union like the United States, Russia and China.
It sounds to me like that’s the perfect time to elect a new president, one suited for the times
So, Sanna Marin is coming back?
I hope so. I never felt more envious of another country than when all her scandals left her sounding cool as fuck.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
HELSINKI (AP) — Voters in Finland were electing a new president Sunday at an unprecedented time for the Nordic nation that is now a NATO member with its eastern border with Russia closed — two things almost unthinkable a few years ago.
Some 4.5 million citizens are eligible to vote for Finland’s new head of state from an array of nine candidates — six men and three women.
They are picking a successor to hugely popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March.
Finland’s new head of state will start a six-year term in March in a markedly different geopolitical and security situation in Europe than did incumbent Niinistö after the 2018 election.
Abandoning decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, much to the annoyance of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with the Nordic nation.
NATO membership, which has made Finland the Western military alliance’s front-line country toward Russia, and the war raging in Ukraine a mere 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away from Finland’s border have boosted the president’s status as a security policy leader.
The original article contains 391 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 50%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This Reuters article has a breakdown on the nine candidates:
ALEXANDER STUBB The 55-year-old, multilingual presidential front-runner Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party is known as a pro-European, who previously served as prime minister and foreign minister and as a member of the European Parliament. In 2017, Stubb left Finnish politics to become vice president of the European Investment Bank and later director at the European University Institute in Florence, before returning to contest the presidential election.
PEKKA HAAVISTO Liberal Pekka Haavisto, a Green League member and former United Nations diplomat, has run for president twice before, in 2012 and 2018, both times finishing second behind retiring President Sauli Niinisto. The 65-year-old centre-left front-runner Haavisto served as Finland’s foreign minister from 2019 to 2023 and held other ministerial positions before that. If elected, Haavisto would become Finland’s first openly gay president.
JUSSI HALLA-AHO Nationalist Jussi Halla-aho, former Finns Party leader and now parliament speaker, is a stern critic of the EU and immigration who was fined by the country’s Supreme Court for racist remarks in 2012. A divisive figure, Halla-aho is third in polls and rising, being particularly popular among young people.
OLLI REHN Bank of Finland Governor and ECB governing council member on leave of absence, Olli Rehn, 61, is a member of the Centre Party and former EU economy commissioner. The latest polls have placed him fourth with 12% support.
Other candidates include Social Democrat EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, Christian Democrat party leader Sari Essayah, Left Alliance leader Li Andersson, academic Mika Aaltola and businessman Harry Harkimo.
Kimi Raikkonen for President!
