Monday, February 06, 2012
A former finance minister has won Finland’s presidential election and will become the country’s first conservative head of state in five decades.
Sauli Niinisto won 63% of the votes, compared to 37% for his rival, Greens candidate Pekka Haavisto, official results showed with 100% of ballots counted.
Voters braved record low temperatures yesterday to choose between Niinisto and Haavisto, Finland’s first openly gay candidate. The former environment minister was seen by many as too radical for the Nordic country.
The 63-year-old Niinisto will become the first president from the conservative National Coalition Party since 1956, and the first in 30 years from a party other than the centre-left Social Democrats.
He will replace Tarja Halonen, one of Finland’s most popular heads of state, who has served the maximum two six-year terms.
"The president in Finland has to understand that there are many different thoughts and opinions and that they must be taken into account so that he could be the president of the whole nation," Niinisto said in his victory speech.
Finland’s president has a largely ceremonial role, with fewer powers now than in previous decades, and is not directly involved in daily politics. However, the head of state takes the lead on non-EU foreign policy, is seen as an important shaper of public opinion, and plays a role as a "brand ambassador" of Finland overseas.
Haavisto’s sexual orientation has not been a major issue in lacklustre election debates, but remained below the surface for the taciturn Finns, who relish privacy and refrain from discussing family affairs in public.
Niinisto, who is married and has two adult children from a previous marriage, avoided commenting directly on Haavisto’s sexual orientation.
"I have the impression that Finns are tolerant and feel that everyone is entitled to their privacy and that the private lives of others are none of their business," Haavisto said, but conceded that his sexuality could be "a hurdle" for some voters.
Niinisto, 63 was finance minister when Finland adopted the euro in 2002, is popular among older voters and, for many, represents continuity.
"He’s stable and steady, and will represent Finland in an exemplary manner," said Matti Oksanen, a retired engineer, before casting his ballot in a snowy suburb of Helsinki where the temperature plummeted to -26ºc. "We are not ready yet for the more radical candidate," he said.
Picture: Sauli Niinisto, the Finland's presidential candidate of the National Coalition Party and and his wife Jenni Haukio at an election night rally at the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland Sunday Feb. 5, 2012 after the results of the second and final round of vote is counted.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.
