Presidential Election
EDITORIAL: And then there were two

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Finland's presidential elections have become a contrary current in the political stream that repeatedly brings surprises.
      In a presidential election that involves a direct popular vote, the traditional political power setups have always been shaken in one way or another. When people have directly voted for the president, issues of values have emerged in a way that does not happen in parliamentary or municipal elections.
      In these presidential elections, support was channelled to three candidates: the overwhelming advance favourite, the National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö, and two unexpected vote magnets, the Centre Party’s Paavo Väyrynen and the Greens’ Pekka Haavisto.
      Niinistö personifies something akin to what was seen in Mauno Koivisto. He is a powerful economic figure who eschews big words, but who nevertheless has a good command of nuances - a political outsider who nevertheless comes from the inner circles of politics.
     
Väyrynen was notable for his ability to rise directly from his humiliating personal defeat in the parliamentary elections to fight another day, and his ability to create a new lighter-than-reality image to obscure his reputation of indulging in black-and-white ranting.
      While Väyrynen did not make it to the second round, his influence within the Centre Party will undoubtedly grow as a result of these presidential elections.
      The party owes Väyrynen a debt of gratitude, and he will undoubtedly call in that debt.
      With his adept performances on television, Pekka Haavisto appealed to people with his calm demeanour and his amicable manner.
      Timo Soini, the chairman and candidate of the Finns Party, was probably right when he said that many appreciate the fact that Haavisto visited MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who has become infamous for his abrasive comments, at his home in Viitasaari.
      The extension of the hand in friendship was a political act.
     
The second round of the presidential elections would appear to be quite cut and dried after the first round.
      Sauli Niinistö has a head start of over half a million votes, and it can be assumed that he will get a significant proportion of the votes of supporters of at least the Centre Party, the Swedish People’s Party, and the Christian Democrats.
      There are few differences between Haavisto and Niinistö in matters of policy.
      Niinistö is slightly more critical of the EU than Haavisto is. He is also slightly more conservative in his values, and tougher with respect to unauthorised strikes.
      However, the setup is not quite that straightforward. The first indication of this came on Monday when Soini hinted in an interview on the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) that he was considering voting for Haavisto in the second round.
      What would that mean?
     
And what is the reaction on the political left to the election result? Haavisto is likely to get at least a few public endorsements from the left.
      The configuration in the election could prove to be quite unusual and enthralling.
      Supporting the pro-EU Haavisto might be a veritable rainbow coalition, ranging from urban social liberals to a significant proportion of the left, and a few from The Finns Party.
      Niinistö, who has been more critical of the EU’s recent decisions, has supporters ranging from business interests yearning for a closer-knit EU, to blue-collar workers, euro-sceptical farmers, and social conservatives.
      The configurations and the labels are so complicated that it is ultimately probably best to take a new look at the person.
      What kind of a person do we want as Finland’s leader of values and as our representative at home and abroad?
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.1.2012


See also:
  Remaining presidential candidates resume campaign for runoff election (24.1.2012)

Helsingin Sanomat