The next presidential election won’t take place until early 2024, but that doesn’t stop the speculation of which candidates might enjoy most support!
A new poll in Rural Future newspaper looks ahead to the 2024 presidential election to get a snapshot of how potential candidates are faring among voters.
The survey finds that two prominent politicians have seen their support levels slump since a previous poll back in February.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) still enjoys the most support to become Finland’s next president, but his popularity is waning. In February he had 19% but now he’s at 12%.
Haavisto has run twice before to become president, finishing second behind Sauli Niinistö in 2012 and 2018. However he has faced a number of political problems over the last six months which might have dented his standing, over the way he handled the al-Hol refugee crisis and his management style at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which saw a very public falling out with a senior civil servant, and investigations from the police and a parliamentary committee.
Meanwhile Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho has also seen his support for a potential presidential run fall from 9% to 6% in the last four months; while former Centre Party politician Olli Rehn, currently the Governor of the Bank of Finland, has seen his support stay the same at 11%. Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) enjoys 10% support in this latest poll.
The next presidential election isn’t scheduled to be held until early 2024, with parties traditionally announcing their candidates the year before. However that doesn’t stop the media from indulging in regular speculation about which candidates might run from which party, and how much voter support they could potentially count on.
Finnish presidents can serve a maximum of two terms in office.
Source: newsnowfinland.fi
