A representative of the centre-right, former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, has won the presidential elections in Finland.
The polling stations were open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. As reported by Reuters, after conversion, 58.3 percent The center-right candidate of the ruling National Coalition received 52.7 percent of the vote. support. His competitor Pekka Hvaisto, representative of the Green Party and former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, obtained 47.3 percent.
These preliminary results confirm pre-election predictions, in which Stubb won 5-6 percent. benefit. In the first round of elections, which took place at the end of January, Stubb won by a narrow margin of just 1.4 points. percent Then 75 percent participated. entitled to vote.
“A new era in the history of Finland”
Reuters says the presidential election marks a “new era” in Finland’s history. As a result of the war in Ukraine, Helsinki abandoned its long-standing policy of ‘equal distance’ and decided to join NATO.
The current president, Sauli Niinisto, who held office for 12 years (in Finland one term lasts six years), was nicknamed ‘Putin’s pursuer’ because of his close relations with Moscow.
“Niniisto’s successor will play a key role in defining Finland’s role in NATO, taking a leading role in shaping foreign and security policy in close cooperation with the government, while also serving as Commander in Chief of the armed forces,” says Reuters.
Finland in NATO
After Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, the governments of Sweden and Finland expressed their desire to join NATO. Both countries’ membership applications were quickly approved by all NATO countries except Turkey and Hungary. President Erdogan demanded that Sweden extradite representatives of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and the Hungarian Prime Minister spoke of “disrespect” for Budapest on the part of the Scandinavian countries.
At the end of March, the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary ratified Finland’s application for membership in the Alliance. After long negotiations, Ankara agreed to Helsinki’s accession to NATO, which took place on April 4 last year. The negotiations with Sweden took longer and therefore the procedure for consenting to Sweden in the Turkish parliament only started in October last year.
Source: Do Rzeczy

Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.