Conservative candidate wants Finnish workers to unite and elect him President

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Sauli Niinistö, the upcoming presidential candidate of the conservative National Coalition Party, is marketing himself as a "president of the workers".
      In both his speeches and his advertisements, Niinistö is making reference to people such as Left Alliance MP Outi Ojala, who has said that "a strong state economy is also a friend of the poor".
      "Thank you, Outi, I couldn’t have said it better myself", Niinistö said.
      The "workers’ President" theme was hatched during discussion involving Niinistö himself, his campaign’s sparring team, and the advertising agency Bob Helsinki.
      At the opening of his campaign in Helsinki on Wednesday, Niinistö said that his own experience had led to the idea that "we are all workers".
      He also said that he does not believe that it will be any problem for his fellow party members to accept the slogan. He also said that serious consideration needs to be given to the question of why the concept of "workers" should apply only to a part of the working population.
     
Campaign manager Harri Jaskari confirmed on Wednesday that the aim of the campaign is to go straight onto the home turf of incumbent Tarja Halonen, who is running for re-election on the Social Democratic Party ticket. "We are simply redefining workers as a broader group than before."
      Niinistö includes among Finnish workers many of those who do not actually have jobs, or who have retired. "It is also important for them that people work, because it guarantees well-being", Niinistö said.
     
Speaking at the opening of his campaign, Niinistö quoted Finnish industrialist Tauno Matomäki, who has said that without people who get up early to get to work at seven at factories and hospitals, people could not live as well as they do in Finland.
      "The words are those of Tauno Matomäki, but I agree with him completely", he said.
      One of the key themes of Niinistö’s campaign is to promote the idea that the time of polarisation is over: entrepreneurs and a company’s employees have one common cause above all others: work and its continuity.
     
Earlier in the autumn Niinistö sought to spark debate on foreign and security policy. However, he laments that nobody took the bait.
      While the head of his campaign noted that security policy does not interest anyone now, Niinistö himself pointed out that many international bodies speak in favour of a European security policy.
      Niinistö wondered why Finland remains silent on the official level, "hoping and living in a fairy-tale world", that someone will always come and help.
      As a supporter of European security cooperation, Niinistö conceded that Finland might end up coming face-to-face with NATO at some stage.
      "It will be a matter to clarify at that point, how the European arrangement is agreed, or adapted to comply with the trans-Atlantic, or NATO arrangements."
      Niinistö says that in such a situation, there should be serious discussion of a referendum. He sees the NATO issue as nearly as important as EU membership, which also involved a referendum.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sauli Niinistö lives an austere and quiet life in Luxembourg (11.10.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat