Oh man, I'm gonna get fried for this.
The Finnish Presidential Election is nearing, and I'm pumped - so much so, that when thinking of how I'd vote on any given pairing on the likely 1-on-1 second round, I ranked all the candidates. Sure, this is a movie/TV blog, but I like to be liberal with the format and these are all people we've seen on TV so it totally qualifies as a blog post. Remember, these are my own personal views, with which I hope not to offend but simply to share my perspective and endorsments with anyone interested!
9. Jussi Halla-Aho
"Devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering. He has no conscience, feels no remorse or empathy, and does not recognize the worth and humanity of anybody except himself. He feels no need for human companionship or friendship, and cannot comprehend love or affection for another. He believes he is superior to everyone around him. Tall and skeletally thin, with a face whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes. Hands like large, pale spiders; his long, white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face"
Excuse me, I've mixed up my notes - how did those quotes from the Wikipedia entry for Lord Voldemort get here? Anyhow, where was I...
Much like his Wizarding World counterpart, Halla-Aho has built a political career devoid of empathy while being admittedly smart to a scary degree - he has made an art form out of sounding well-reasoned by using facts, but only certain hand-picked facts at that. Make no mistake, this man is a cold-blooded white supremacist, a professional liar, and I truly hope he doesn't get the massive wave of votes that his racism-based True Finns party got in last spring's parliament election.
8. Sari Essayah
Sure, Essayah is one of the more reasonable figures in the Christian Democrats party, but that's not exactly a high bar for me - nothing against Christianity in itself, but using a book from thousands of years ago as a basis for modern-day legislation (in a country that claims to have religious freedom and separation of church and state, no less) just doesn't sit right with me. And while Essayah may have the necessary skillset to be commander-in-chief, a President is also somewhat of a value leader, and anyone who is against equal marriage rights in this day and age has no business leading my Finland.
7. Harry Harkimo
"He is deeply insecure about his status and is prone to delusions of grandeur, even deciding to run for President despite having little to no chance of winning. He claims to have been interested in politics from a very early age"
Oops, that's the Wikipedia description of the satirical character Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) in Succession. Where was I?
Right, Harry Harkimo. The 70-year-old businessman, who famously split from right-wing party Kokoomus to form his own party whose platform is indistinguishable from Kokoomus, seems to be treating running for President as a bored rich man's hobby. I'm sure he wouldn't be completely terrible at the job, but the real and serious candidates (excluding Halla-Aho, who is serious about all the wrong things) would just be so much better.
6. Mika Aaltola
I hate that I had to rank Aaltola this highly, as I'm lowkey scared of him. Unlike my other home country with its upcoming elections, Finland has multiple good candidates - if anyone from my top five wins, I'll be content. But the bottom four causes their share of concern, even if Aaltola is the best from that tier.
He's ahead of the other three mainly because of his admitted expertise - being the leading figure of Finland's foreign policy is the President's primary job, and as the leader of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, he definitely has knowledge there. Still, so many things about his campaign bug me - every time he speaks he feels untrustworthy, giving the vibe of a populist trying to please everyone. Many of his comments also highlight how distanced he is from the life of an everyday Finn, and I'd rather have someone in touch with reality as the country's ceremonial leader.
5. Olli Rehn
I've made my share of jokes at the expense of Keskusta (Centre Party) in my life, for the same reason that American comedians always joke about Florida - it's an easy target. The jokes write themselves. And here's one more: of course the Centre Party's official candidate is ranked fifth out of the nine candidates, smack-right in the middle. As a fun exercise a few weeks ago, I ranked the nine candidates based on four different factors that I consider important in a President: experience and vision in foreign policy, values and priorities, integrity and trustworthiness, and how they would represent 'my Finland'. And without planning it, Rehn came exactly fifth in all four rankings. Like I said, the jokes write themselves.
One more slightly boring old white cis male as a head-of-state isn't exactly what the world needs right now, so Rehn wouldn't be the most inspiring President. Still, the current slightly boring old white cis male Sauli Niinistö has done an admittedly excellent job as President, and I reckon Rehn would be a similar commander. I'd be fine with him as President, but he won't get my vote unless he faces one of the villains in the second round.
4. Alexander Stubb
I've been deeply upset by Finland's new government, spearheaded by Stubb's party Kokoomus and their chickenshit Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's spineless party line of letting white supremacists run rampantly free as cabinet secretaries. In the current state of affairs, voting for anyone from Kokoomus would feel wrong for me.
Still, I've got to say that Stubb would be a good President.
The party made a smart move putting forward a Presidential candidate who has been working abroad with the European University Institute for the last few years, and is therefore far removed from the train wreck of the current right-wing government. Furthermore, Stubb is a real statesman with experience in foreign policy, well-reasoned arguments, and a humane style of speaking and carrying himself that would make him an adequate diplomatic representative for the country.
3. Jutta Urpilainen
The Social Democrat Party has produced some of the finest Presidents in Finland's history, and Urpilainen would likely make for a decent continuation (if she had a realistic chance of winning, let's be real). While she's probably not progressing to the second round, I'm placing her third in my ranking because I would like seeing her as President even more than Rehn or Stubb.
Urpilainen is sharp and diplomatic, has a good track record with international affairs, and I agree with her stances on some of the issues I feel the strongest about, like climate change - seriously, as Finland has so many decent candidates, couldn't we please spare one of them to my other home country? One of these younger-than-80 basically-comprehensible-and-competent people? Please?
2. Pekka Haavisto
I know, I know - as a member of the Green Party, who belongs to a sexual minority, voted for Haavisto in 2018, has taken a fan selfie with Pekka Haavisto and owns a Pekka Haavisto 2024 mug, one might think that the former Minister for Foreign Affairs would be the one getting my vote. And it is a close call - I've been a fan of Pekka's forever, I trust that he would be a great President, and he makes it all the way to 2nd place.
However, in my personal ranking, one candidate (who we'll get to momentarily) barely surpassed him. There are individual issues that have come up where my stance is different from Haavisto's, and while none of them are dealbreakers, the set of candidates is so solid that little things end up making a big difference. So, when realizing there's a candidate whose platform is even closer to mine, I made an informed decision to change my mind.
I'll likely be voting for Haavisto in the second round if he comes up against Stubb, Rehn or Aaltola (or, God forbid, Halla-aho), and do so with a clear conscience. But as inspiring and impressive as Haavisto's career and Presidential credentials are, there's one candidate this time who speaks to my values even more.
1. Li Andersson
I was considering voting for Andersson as my #1 alternative to Haavisto, and watching YLE's Presidential debate finally tipped me over. I'm a pacifist and that's one of my most important values, so the one candidate who has the heart to condemn war crimes, even when they're being committed by a country we're allied to, is the one candidate I'm inclined to vote for. In addition to that moment that gained Andersson the only spontaneous audience applause of the event, her answers throughout the debate were well-reasoned, on point, and frankly inspiring.
While I know many people who consider Li to be 'extreme', the stereotype is far from the truth - she's a well-educated, well-experienced and considerate leader who takes her work seriously, studies the facts before making informed decisions, and thoroughly has what it takes to get the job done. Anyone with the opinion of her as extreme should listen to her speak about her platform with an open mind, and then review their opinion.
The Greens may be 'my party', but I like to treat each election with an open mind instead of having a locked opinion on which party to vote for - especially Presidential elections, where partisan politics play a much smaller role. Out of the nine candidates, Li Andersson is the one I'd most like to see as President, even if there are many other candidates who I'd also be happy enough to see in office. With her agreeable values and priorities, future-oriented vision, diplomatic skills and prolific career, Li Andersson has earned my vote.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I return to my usual movie/TV content with my traditional January post of the upcoming year's most anticipated movies.
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