Foreign minister launches campaign to become next Finnish president

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will run for president with the help of a constituency association, he announced on Thursday during a press conference.

The announcement came as no surprise as Haavisto has been leading the polls for months to succeed the current President, Sauli Niinistö. In a most recent poll in mid-May, Haavisto gathered 28% support and 53% said voting for him would be possible.

“The presidential election is a distinctly personal choice and I have been contacted by many who say that they never voted for the Greens but that they’d like to participate through campaign work or by voting for me. It’s important that everyone can participate in the campaign regardless of party affiliation, age and place of residence,” Haavisto said in a press conference (YLE).

The president is elected by a direct vote for a six-year term, for a maximum of two consecutive terms. A candidate must receive more than half of the votes to be elected, otherwise, there is a second round. The president has power, especially in foreign and security policy which they lead in cooperation with the government.

After losing against the current President Sauli Niinistö both in 2012 and 2018, this will be Haavisto’s third attempt to run for office. What is different this time is that he has distanced himself from his party the Greens and is looking for cross-party support with the help of a constituency association.

Later in the Ilta-Sanomat interview, to justify his decision to run outside parties, Haavisto said being concerned about the unity of the nation ”in these difficult and exceptional times”. Not being a Green party candidate can be seen also as a tactical move as in a survey published on Thursday, the Greens gathered only 7.5% support.

Before Haavisto, only the Chair of the Movement Now Harry Harkimo has announced his presidential bid. So far his support has been a mere 1%. Olli Rehn (Centre), a former EU commissioner and the current governor of the Bank of Finland is expected to join the race in the summer. His popularity in the surveys has been around 15%.

The elections take place on 28 January 2024.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)