Haavisto, 65, who negotiated Finland’s record-fast accession to Nato last year, is a frontrunner alongside Alexander Stubb, a former prime minister and foreign minister. The head of state and commander-in-chief of the army is responsible for foreign policy, in cooperation with the government, and represents Finland at Nato summits, as well as in meetings with international leaders. The election of the next Finnish president, taking place against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical drama on the country’s border with Russia, is seen as crucial to Finland’s future direction. It’s important that we grow in tolerance as Finns,” Haavisto told the Guardian in an interview. “If we want to keep the country united against all external threats, including Russian threats, it is very important that we can handle these types of topics nationally because otherwise these are misused against us and all kinds of provocations can appear. In addition to being a pressing social issue, reducing the volume of hate speech aimed at making people of colour and others feel “scared of expressing their opinions” was key to national security, he added, saying external actors might seek to exploit domestic divisions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |