Finnish President Alexander Stubb congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory.

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Finnish President Alexander Stubb congratulated his future American counterpart Donald Trump on his re-election.

Stubb posted his congratulatory message in English and Finnish on social media platform X on Wednesday.

“I look forward to working closely with you and your administration on the major challenges of our time. Finland and the United States are close allies on many fronts, including security, technology and business,” Stubb wrote.

The Finnish president also planned a press conference on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) commented on the election in Yle around 9am, after observing the results since 3am.

“Since the president and the presidential party are changing, there will definitely be adjustments. I don’t believe there will be any dramatic or significant changes from Finland’s point of view,” Orpo said, but stressed that whatever whatever the outcome of the elections. , Europe must better prepare for the future.

“I have been saying for a long time that Europe must play a bigger role. We cannot count so much on support from the United States. Of course, the United States has other interests,” the Prime Minister said.

“Peace must be achieved on Ukraine’s terms”

Orpo further noted that Finland has sought to establish broad bilateral relations with the United States, including under the DCA defense agreement. sign last December.

“Our relationship with the United States is becoming deeper and more concrete, and this creates a solid foundation,” he said.

Trump said the war in Ukraine could end quickly. For Orpo, peace must be established in Ukraine, but not under any conditions.

“Peace must be achieved on Ukraine’s terms,” he said. “We have our own historical experience that if the big ones agree on the heads (of others), it is not in the interest of a small nation or an independent nation, and we hope that this will be clearly kept in mind when a peace agreement is eventually reached.”

Opposition leaders call for more European responsibility

The leader of the opposition, president of the SDP Antti Lindtmanexpressed hope that after the US elections, “the country will gradually move away from excessive polarization and escalation of negative campaigns, and the US political system will heal.”

In an article on X, Lindtman wrote that there is reason to prepare for more protectionism in trade policy. Like Orpo, Lindtman said Europeans must take greater responsibility for their security.

Chairman of the opposition Center Party Antti Kaikkonen echoed the same view, writing on X that: “continued cooperation between the United States and Europe is important. The election result also means that Europe must take even more responsibility for its own security.”

A “bad dream”

Another opposition party leader, Sofia Virta of the Greens, also took to “environment, minorities, exports and democracy are palpable”.

She called on Europe to “unite to support Ukraine, strengthen its competitiveness and push the United States to continue working for the rights of women and minorities despite Trump’s victory.”

Furthermore, a study published Wednesday indicates that this fall, Trump received 30% more mentions in the Finnish media compared to the Democratic candidate. Kamala Harris.

Consultancy Retriever has counted 13,103 mentions of Trump in Finnish media since the start of August 1, compared to just 10,078 for Harris.

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