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The EU has favourably greeted the election, on January 5, of pro-EU conservative Sauli Niinistö as President of Finland. He won against another Europhile, environmentalist Pekka Haavisto. This is seen as positive after the breakthrough, nearly a year ago, of the populist True Finn Party in legislative elections which led Helsinki to adopt a tough stance in negotiations on aid to Greece. Yet, notes Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, this election does not mean the end "of the mistrust of the citizens toward the EU".
The paper highlights instead the 17% obtained by the centrist candidate, Paavo Väyrynen, an early opponent of the single currency. Väyrynen, who "heard the criticism regarding the euro and managed to make good use of it," campaigned by attacking the social democrat candidate, Paavo Lipponen, who finished 10 points behind Väyrynen. This gap is interpreted by Helsingin Sanomat as a sign of strong Eurosceptic sentiment in Finland.
Helsingin Sanomat also notes that the new president, Sauli Niinistö, is "much more guarded than the rest of his party on the issue of providing financial support to eurozone countries in crisis," and this could complicate future negotiations within the EU.
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