The conservative candidate, Alexander Stubb, has been elected the new president of Finland in a close second round election. With 98.3% of the vote counted, Stubb has obtained 51.7% of the votes, compared to 48.3% for his rival, the environmentalist Pekka Haavisto. This is the closest result in the history of Finnish presidential elections since direct suffrage was established in 1994.
«It is the greatest honor of my life. There is no greater task than being the President of the Republic,” Stubb declared to the press, visibly moved, after learning the results. “I am proud that at such a complicated time in the global geopolitical situation we have been able to carry out such a civilized campaign, it is not something easy to see today in other countries,” he added.
Haavisto, for his part, congratulated Stubb and recognized that Finland will have a “very competent” president thanks to his extensive international experience. The environmentalist candidate has highlighted that his result has been better than what the latest polls predicted, which gave him a maximum of 47% of the votes, but he has lamented that the improvement in the final stage of the campaign was not enough to take victory.
With this electoral victory, Stubb becomes the second president of the conservative Kokoomus party since 1956, following in the wake of the outgoing head of state, Sauli Niinistö, who has exhausted his two six-year terms.
Stubb has already been head of government and minister on three occasions, although he had been away from Finnish politics for almost seven years, during which time he served as vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and university professor.
The Finnish president’s main responsibility is to direct international and security policy, in consensus with the government in power, a highly topical issue due to the tense relations with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and Finland’s historic entry into NATO. .
The polling stations opened their doors this Sunday to celebrate the second round of the presidential elections. Participation has been high, with 72% of voters going to the polls.
Stubb assumes the presidency of Finland at a crucial time for the country. The war in Ukraine and the recent accession to NATO have marked a before and after in Finnish foreign policy. The new president will have to navigate a complex geopolitical scenario and make important decisions for the future of the country.