Poll shows greater support for more defence spending

NATO membership remains unpopular

Tuomas Forsberg

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A recent poll commissioned by the Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI) indicates that 44 per cent of Finns are in favour of increasing the defence budget, while almost as many would like to keep the budget unchanged.
      Last year, a similar survey suggested that only 31 per cent of the respondents supported such an increase.
      Tuomas Forsberg, Professor of Political Science at the University of Helsinki, attributes nine-point rise to an increasingly sceptical attitude towards NATO membership.
      On the other hand, the opinions of the Finns are not influenced very heavily by events in Russia, such as the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, which are regarded more or less as internal matters of the country.
     
Only eight per cent of Finns would like to cut back on defence spending. The figure was the same even a year ago.
      The survey also suggests that only 26 per cent of Finns support Finland joining NATO - down by two percentage points from a similar poll carried out a year ago.
      Six years ago, two out of three Finns expressed confidence in Finland’s ability to defend itself in an armed conflict, while today, less than half have faith in the country’s national defence capability.
      Despite some feelings of uncertainty, the Finns have a strong will to defend their country. More than three out of four citizens feel that Finland has to put up an armed defence in all situations, even if the outcome seems questionable.
     
Most respondents take a positive view of Finland’s involvement in the UN peacekeeping operation in Southern Lebanon. They believe that the participation has a positive effect on both the security situation in Southern Lebanon and on Finland’s foreign policy.
      Four in five respondents feel that the use of armed force to protect civilians is one of the peacekeepers’ tasks. Nearly as many believe that the prevention of Israeli attacks across the border into Lebanon is another peacekeeping task.
      Moreover, three in five Finns think that the UN peacekeepers should work to disarm Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
     
According to the poll, the top five causes of anxiety in Finland are the global state of the environment, the use of natural resources, nuclear weapons, international terrorism, and the use of nuclear energy as a power source in Russia.
      The issues of least concern include Finland’s economic outlook, the growing number of immigrants in Finland, and the use of nuclear energy in Finland.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Poll: Finns taking increasingly negative view of NATO membership (13.11.2006)

Links:
  The Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

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