PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - EDITORIAL: Niinistö received a very strong mandate from the people
Sauli Niinistö
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Sunday evening saw the dénouement of a long-running drama that most people had seen coming and which the most eager had been looking forward to for fully six years: Sauli Väinämö Niinistö, 63, standing on a National Coalition Party ticket, was chosen as Finland's 12th President of the Republic, and furthermore by the largest tally of votes in the history of such elections.
In the run-off, Niinistö beat the Green candidate Pekka Haavisto by 62.6% to 37.4%.
What sort of president will we be getting in Niinistö?
A non-socialist one, undoubtedly, after thirty years of Social Democrat heads of state.
A right-winger? Yes, in the sense that in Niinistö's view everyone should carry responsibility for his or her own life.
But no, not so abruptly that he believes everyone should take care of themselves, period.
In matters pertaining to business life, Niinistö's opinions broadly follow those of the employers' camp.
During the election campaign, Niiinistö protested vehemently at attempts to paint him as a conservative on values.
Perhaps he would nevertheless accept the assessment that he is a broad-minded conservative.
In any event, Niinistö is more of a conservative mien than a radical reformer.
In terms of his core ethics, Sauli Niinistö is staunchly protestant in outlook. He is modest in life even to the point of asceticism.
A careful grip on the finances, diligence, and determination are virtues that Niinistö can applaud. He does his work dutifully with furrowed brow rather than with a broad grin on his face.
In addition to these values, Niinistö has a good deal else in common with another Finnish President taken from the south-west of the country, namely Mauno Koivisto, who served two terms from 1982 to 1994.
Both men managed to create of themselves an image of a lone wolf charting its own course, of a solitary sheriff figure outside of and above party politics.
The image of Niinistö as a statesman above the hurly-burly of politics has been strengthened by a tendency towards criticising also his own party.
As the Speaker of Parliament on his return to Finland in 2007, he tried to attach some reins to the spending of the body's officials and of MPs who had become estranged from the public at large - and again his reputation rose a notch.
Just as Koivisto in his time, Niinistö is not a product of the party machine, nor is he its pampered favourite. Like Koivisto, he is an economist by background, albeit that he has a law degree and was even in practice for ten years.
The comparisons continue: both Niinistö and Koivisto have become known as profound thinkers, whose train of thought sometimes leaves listeners standing on the platform scratching their head.
So Niinistö and his Social Democrat predecessor from the 1980s have a good many common features, but Niinistö's inner circle know well that by temperament at least the new head of state resembles more the last person to reach this office from the moderate conservative National Coalition Party, Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1870-1956).
Those of a sensitive mind can get scared at Niinistö's gruff directness.
It is, by the way, fully 56 years since Finland last had a President drawn from the ranks of the NCP.
And what will change in Finland? Not a great deal, at least not in the short term.
Finland will remain a country and nation open to Europe and the wider world.
The incoming President of the Republic will undoubtedly maintain cordial relations with the major powers to west and east alike.
In terms of our relations with the United States, there is even some room for development.
Six years ago, Niinistö formulated the idea of a European NATO, but it is hardly on the cards that he will be carrying Finland into NATO as his first task.
The man himself has said that this is something that should be asked of the country in a referendum, and the mood at present is not in favour.
Finland's direction is thus unlikely to change. In part this is because the incoming President is once again having a slice of his powers removed in constitutional changes that come into effect when Tarja Halonen hands over the ship of state in March.
To continue the nautical metaphor, going forward the President of Finland certainly stands on the bridge as before, but the hand on the helm is that of the Prime Minister, currently Jyrki Katainen, who incidentally also comes from the National Coalition Party.
We have reason to thank the defeated Pekka Haavisto for having made the election an interesting one.
It was not that Haavisto at any point would have seriously threatened the position of the overwhelming ante-post favourite, but as the candidate of a small party and with initially only a small budget, he conducted a campaign that saw him rising steadily in the polls and carried him through into the second round.
Had the votes been distributed as they were in the Parliamentary elections of April 2011, then Haavisto would have been in fifth or sixth place after the first round, rather than the runner-up.
The voter turnout in the second round, falling below 69%, was well under par, and is a cause for concern.
This was the worst figure in the history of two-stage direct elections.
The lack of voter enthusiasm may have been caused by a situation in which there was little doubt in advance over the end-result, and also voters may have been put off by the extremely cold weather on Sunday.
At the same time, a significant portion of the "orphaned" Social Democrat, Centre Party, and Finns Party supporters decided they would rather stay at home.
Even against this background and with these numbers, the incoming President nevertheless received a strong mandate for his actions from the Finnish people.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 6.2.2012
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.2.2012 - THIS WEEK |
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - EDITORIAL: Niinistö received a very strong mandate from the people |
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