Presidential Election
COMMENTARY: Whose side are you on, Helsinki voters?

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By Kalle Silfverberg
     
      What's the connection between Kontula and Kulosaari? Or Mellunmäki and Munkkiniemi?
      No, no prizes for first letters, as the answer is Sauli Niinistö.
      The conservative candidate from the National Coalition Party got a big windfall of votes both from the former Social Democrat strongholds of the capital (the first place in each of the pairs above) and from traditional non-socialist districts.
      Those former SDP wards where Niinistö now ran riot are the same districts where the Finns Party (then in their guise as the True Finns) happily hoovered up votes from disaffected Social Democrats in the Parliamentary Elections last April.
      In addition to the city's traditional National Coalition Party supporters, Niinistö would appear on the face of it to have won the votes of conservative-minded Helsinki residents.
     
His second-round opponent Pekka Haavisto came with a late run on the outside, collecting the support of liberal voters over a far broader area than the Greens managed in their rather unsuccessful Parliamentary Election campaign last year.
      The SDP have supporters of every shade and social background. The party ended up with the (very) short straw in Sunday's election when Paavo Lipponen was unable to bring on board any but the most diehard Social Democrat faithful.
      Timo Soini, for his part, left a large share of the Finns Party adherents underwhelmed by his campaign, and supporters of the Left Alliance were tempted towards tactical voting on behalf of Haavisto, on the principle of "anyone but Paavo Väyrynen or Timo Soini".
     
In Helsinki, more than 70% of voters went for either Niinistö (37.2%) or Haavisto (34.5%).
      The remainder will be mulling over their choice during the next two weeks.
      The result will be, at least for a moment, a new deal of the capital's political cards among two big players.
      In October, we have municipal elections coming up.
      The other parties have work on their hands over the coming months, in order that "NCP or Greens?" would not by then have become the established way of asking one's political affiliation.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.1.2012


Links:
  Ministry of Justice Elections Portal - Helsinki Results by polling area

KALLE SILFVERBERG / Helsingin Sanomat
kalle.silfverberg@hs.fi