Poll: Finns taking increasingly negative view of NATO membership

Anti-NATO sentiment increases among 15-24 age group

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Opposition to Finnish membership in NATO appears to have increased somewhat from last year. According to a survey by Helsingin Sanomat, 59 percent of Finns are against joining the alliance, up from 55 percent last year.
      The difference falls within the margin of error of the survey.
      Opponents to joining NATO generally say that as a NATO member, Finland could become involved in conflicts that do not involve Finland. There was also the belief that membership would lead to an unacceptable increase in defence spending.
      Many also feel that joining NATO is unnecessary, because the EU is a sufficient guarantee of national security.
     
About one in four Finns are in favour of joining NATO. The greatest proportion of supporters can be found among voters of the opposition conservative National Coalition Party - however, even among them, support for NATO has declined from 59 percent last year to 53 percent this year.
      The most common reason given in favour of NATO membership is that Finland is already involved in peacekeeping projects led by NATO - an argument that has grown stronger by more than ten percentage points since 2004.
      Equally popular is the view that it is better to join NATO during peacetime, because when a crisis is at hand, a last-ditch scramble for membership would be too late.
     
The people want to know before Parliamentary elections next spring what the views of the political parties are on NATO membership. According to the survey, four out of five Finns want the parties to clearly state their views on joining NATO.
      This past summer, the Speaker of Parliament, Paavo Lipponen (SDP), urged Finland's political parties to make their views on NATO public before next year’s elections.
     
Younger age groups take the most negative view of NATO membership, with more than 70 percent of those aged 15 to 24 opposed to joining the alliance. Opposition by young Finns has increased by 12 percentage points from last year.
      Just over half of those aged 65 or above are against joining NATO. Men tend to take a more positive view of NATO than women. One out of three men are in favour of membership, while fewer than one in five women feel the same way.
      A majority of the population want a referendum on NATO membership before any decisions are made. One out of five feel that no referendum is necessary.
     
Suomen Gallup has surveyed Finnish attitudes toward NATO membership since 1995. Opposition to joining NATO peaked in 2003 when 68 percent of the population came out against membership. The poll was taken in the immediate aftermath of the US attack on Iraq.
      Support for NATO membership was at its highest in 1998, when just under one third of Finns were in favour of it, and fewer than half of Finns were opposed.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Minister Kääriäinen: Finland must spend more on defence, or join NATO (2.11.2006)
  TV news: Editors of largest newspapers support NATO membership (12.10.2006)
  Estonia´s NATO Ambassador: Small country´s voice is heard in organisation (5.4.2006)
  Finland could be allowed into decision-making on some NATO operations (4.4.2006)
  Defence Minister denies military exercises being used to bring Finland into NATO (12.1.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat