In an Yle straw poll of Finland’s 15 MEPs, all respondents but one expressed a preference for Kamala Harris as the next US president.
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The US presidential election is just over six weeks away, with main candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump still close according to most polls. Image: EPA, AFP. Kuvankäsittely: Eeva Sarlin / Yle
With the United States presidential election just over six weeks away, Yle asked the Finnish members of the European Parliament which of the two main candidates would be a better for the future of Europe: Republican ex-president Donald Trump or current Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Almost all of the Finnish MEPs who responded to the survey leaned towards Harris.
Finland has 15 representatives in the European Parliament, of whom 14 answered the survey. Thirteen said they see Harris as a better option.
The only respondent who declined to take a stand on which candidate would be preferable was newly elected Finns Party MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen.
The only MEP who did not respond to the survey at all was Henna Virkkunen of the prime minister’s National Coalition Party. On Tuesday, she was named as the next European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
Many respondents said that Harris would be a more stable, reliable partner for Europe, mentioning support for Ukraine, human rights and the fight against climate change, as well as the future of democracy and political stability.
Several also added that the EU and its member states will be able to cooperate with the US president, regardless of who is elected.
Tynkkynen cites foreign affairs committee role
Tynkkynen, a vice-chair of the Finns Party and former MP, justified his refusal to pick a candidate by noting that he is a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. According to him, Finland, as a small country, should not oppose any presidential candidate in advance.
“Finland will continue to cooperate constructively with the United States in the future, regardless of who is in the White House,” he told Yle.
The four other Finnish members of the foreign affairs committee all said that Harris would be preferable.
Former Finns Party chair – and now Speaker of Parliament – Jussi Halla-aho is among the few high-profile Finnish politicians to express support for Trump in the past. In 2019, he tweeted that “Trump is the best thing that has happened to the United States and the Western world in a long time”. More recently he has said he is “not worried” about the possibility of another Trump term in the White House.
Tynkkynen and Halla-aho have both been convicted of hate speech against ethnic minorities.
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Publish date : 2024-09-20 08:56:00
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