Spirited debate more important for Green presidential candidate than election result

Heidi Hautala calls for more courageous stand on Russia

print this

MP Heidi Hautala was unanimously named the Presidential candidate of the Green League in the meeting of that party's delegate council in Imatra on Saturday. Hautala's candidacy has been something of a foregone conclusion for a long time. The final seal came from a poll of the party's membership, were a clear majority supported the idea of having the party field a candidate of its own, and an even clearer majority felt that Hautala should be that candidate.
      Most Greens would like to see President Tarja Halonen re-elected in next year's election. However, it is generally seen that having a Green candidate in the first round would not in any way hurt the incumbent's chances to reach the second round.
     
Hautala was praised effusively at the meeting. She was seen as a very optimistic person, as well as one who would bring a breath of fresh feminism into the campaign, with a capacity to challenge National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö and the Centre Party's candidate Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on gender issues. Party Chairman Osmo Soininvaara suggested that the country would get a better Tarja Halonen as President if Hautala is a candidate. He predicted that this would happen when the debate turns more toward moral and ethical questions.
      Soininvaara observed that Heidi Hautala has the courage to take up sensitive issues, such as the Chechnya question, in the campaign.
     
Commenting on her nomination, Hautala herself noted that she is not interested in what percentage of the vote she might get; she said that she mainly wants to spark debate.
      Hautala promised to rake up issues that are important for the Greens, such as the question of controlling globalisation. Another theme that she mentioned was that of managing the past of the nation, or "the white spots of history", such as the treatment of prisoners of war taken by Finland, and the events of the period of Finlandisation.
      Heidi Hautala is ready to trim the powers of the Finnish President; she feels that moral authority is more important for the Finnish President than actual political decision-making power. She feels that leading the country's foreign policy could be left to the government.
      Hautala believes that the new President could raise topics of discussion in both domestic and foreign policy. One possible topic would be the Finnish way of life, and "especially its sore spots, such as violence and marginalisation". This was seen as a jibe at Sauli Niinistö, who has raised the Finnish way of life as an important election theme.
     
Heidi Hautala promised to support Tarja Halonen on the theme of globalisation. However, she did point to one difference in emphasis: that of Russia's poor human rights record. Hautala said that Finland should take a more courageous stand on the issue within the EU. She also called for more support for Russia's civil society.
      Heidi Hautala ran as the candidate of the Green League in the previous Presidential elections in 2000. She won 3.3% of the vote in the first round.
      Hautala has been active in various "alternative movements" since the 1970s. She was one of the founders of the Green League in 1987, and served as its chairwoman for four years.
      Hautala was first elected to Parliament in 1991. She became one of Finland's first Members of the European Parliament in 1995.
      Two years ago she was elected to the national Parliament again. It was a considerable disappointment for the party when the Greens did not get into the government that was formed at the time, and Hautala did not get a ministerial portfolio.
     
One of her main themes in all of her activities has been that of increasing openness and the possibilities of the citizens to have direct influence on issues affecting their lives. She got a big feather in her cap when she won a tough battle in the Court of Justice of the European Communities on the issue of the publication of documents - a case in which she was up against the EU's Council of Ministers.
      She sees her intense support for the idea of openness as the reason why she became one of the key supporters of Ambassador Alpo Rusi's grievances against the Security Police (SUPO), whose investigations on his possible involvement in espionage on behalf of East Germany in the 1970s were prematurely leaked to the press.
      Hautala has also been active in setting up a citizens' forum to re-evaluate Finland's recent past, and has been calling for more straight language when talking about Russia.
      Hautala, 49, lives alone in the centre of Helsinki. Her 24-year-old son, Jasper Mallander, is a student. His father is the artist J.O. Mallander.
      Hautala's long-term male companion is Carlo Jordan, a German citizen, who lives in the Prenzlauer Berg district in the eastern part of Berlin. He is an engineer and researcher, and was active in the East German opposition.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  PM Vanhanen to join Presidential race as Centre Party candidate (18.4.2005)
  Former Minister of Finance Niinistö enters race for Finnish Presidency (1.4.2005)

Links:
  Green League

Helsingin Sanomat