Original link: https://sehseh.substack.com/p/ade
“The security of Finland and Sweden is a concern for all of us. If either Finland or Sweden is invaded by (Russia) territories before becoming a NATO member, we will assist both countries by all means necessary. We will immediately start preparations to implement related security guarantees, and to further strengthen our defense cooperation with Finland and Sweden.”
On May 16th, the governments of Denmark, Iceland and Norway issued a tough statement in support of Finland and Sweden, which applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). No fear of color. The big moves by the governments of the three countries come from the following reasons: although Finland and Sweden have already submitted their “nominations” to NATO, the process of joining the alliance can be as short as a few weeks or as long as a year. The transition period is the most vulnerable period for the two countries: Polar bears who fight without blinking and have not yet been included under the umbrella of NATO’s “collective self-defense”. Therefore, the Nordic countries hold their own umbrellas and take care of each other!
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Nordic women’s five countries hold up umbrellas
If you want to visualize this “Nordic Umbrella”, I am afraid it is not a monotonous black umbrella, but a beautiful female umbrella. Because these 5 Nordic countries are not only the social welfare paradise in the eyes of the world, but also the female force of international politics: Denmark (Queen, Prime Minister), Finland (Prime Minister, more than half of the cabinet members), Iceland (Prime Minister), Norway (Chief Minister) Judges, nearly half of cabinet members) and Sweden (crown prince, prime minister) are all women holding up a whole sky or half of the sky. Let’s look at the three Baltic countries that are geographically adjacent to each other and have been under the shadow of Russia for a long time. The Prime Minister of Estonia, the Speaker of the Parliament of Latvia, and the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania are also women’s troops!
On February 24 this year, the “European version of September 11 Incident” – the Russian invasion of Ukraine – broke out. The five Nordic countries fully demonstrated their sense of responsibility as liberal democracies, and they supported Ukraine with their swords and their swords. The Prime Minister cooperated more closely to reverse the traditional national policy of “non-alignment” between the two countries, and promoted the most significant geopolitical change in Europe after the Cold War: Finland and Sweden joined NATO, allowing NATO’s defense line against Russia to be greatly extended to the northeast, and the defense posture was more consolidated It also made Russian dictator Vladimir Putin pay a heavy strategic price for his war crimes and served as a warning to other aggressive ambitions.
Finnish Prime Minister Marin
First look at Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. While Finland’s president has traditionally held diplomatic responsibilities, and current president Sauli Niinistö is one of Europe’s political figures who know Russia and Putin best, Marin has played a key role in Finland’s historic turn.
The most eye-catching trait of Marin is of course his youth. There are only 3 members of the “36-year-old club” with the least powerful leaders in the world today, and Marin is one of them (the other two are Chilean President Porich and Montenegro Prime Minister). Abazovic), and with another new generation of female heroes in international politics, New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern (Jacinda Ardern, 41), the northern and southern hemispheres complement each other.
To ascend to the throne at such an age, Marin definitely did not rely on his family background. She was born in a cold environment, and her biological father was an alcoholic. She was raised by her mother and her girlfriend. She has always been proud of being a “rainbow family”. Marin completed his university studies part-time, and was ridiculed by European far-right “old white men” politicians for “the sales lady became the prime minister”.
Marin joined the Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP) at the age of 20 and embarked on a career in politics. She made her fortune in her hometown of Tampere, was elected city councillor at 26, entered parliament at 29, and took over the Ministry of Transport at 33. In December 2019, Marin became the youngest prime minister in Finnish history (the third female prime minister) at the age of 34, and the leaders of the five political parties of the coalition government are all women, and 11 of the current 19 cabinet members are women. In August of the following year, Marin wrote another record in Finnish politics: a wedding at the Prime Minister’s residence “Kesäranta” and a lifetime event with Markus Räikkönen, his long-term boyfriend.
Perhaps because of his age, Marin made a “young man’s mistake” during the new crown pneumonia pandemic: on December 4 last year, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto was diagnosed with a horse who had close contact with him. Lin didn’t care. He went to the famous nightclub “Butchers” in Helsinki to party at night, and he didn’t bring a mobile phone issued by the government, so he missed the text message asking for self-isolation, all because it was a weekend! The photo of “the Prime Minister visiting nightclubs despite the epidemic prevention” caused the viral spread, and Marin was forced to apologize for her “poor judgment”. Fortunately, her government’s response to the new crown epidemic has been remarkable. This time the storm did not expand. During the same period British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, caught up in the “Partygate” scandal, would probably be envious.
Swedish Prime Minister Andersen
Compared with Marin, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is not so bright and eye-catching, but she is a solid and well-trained political figure. She came from a family of scholars and was a gifted student all the way through her studies. She went to the Institut für Höhere Studien, Wien and Harvard University for further study. Similar to Marin, Anderson joined the center-left Swedish Social Democratic Party (S/SAP) while still in school and started his political career.
Anderson served as a long-term advisor and core staff of Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson in the early years, and was familiar with various government affairs; in 2014, he was recruited by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to take over the Ministry of Finance; he was elected to the International Monetary and Financial Committee in 2020. (IMFC) Chairman.
In August 2021, Lofven showed his diligence and announced that he would step down as party chairman at the Social Democratic Party membership meeting in November. Anderson was a natural fit and was regarded by all parties as the best choice for the new party chairman and the new prime minister. On November 30, after several twists and turns and negotiations with political parties, Anderson became the first female prime minister in Sweden’s 250-year history of constitutional monarchy.
European history is a history of war and peace, bloodshed and church bells, so there are many “neutral countries”. Besides Switzerland, Austria and Ireland, Finland and Sweden are also well known. The two countries joined the European Union (EU) as early as 1995 and are no longer politically neutral, but still adhere to a “military nonalignment” stance; although “joining NATO” is familiar to both societies Initiative, but in the past, the public opinion support rate was only 20% to 30%.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major European geopolitical earthquake in the 21st century, has changed the national security situation of Finnish and Swedish citizens. Putin’s tyranny and intimidation are not overnight, and the invasion of Ukraine has taught the world his “action ability”: he is really willing to take huge military and political risks, at the cost of tens of millions of innocent lives in neighboring countries, to carry out his own of wolf ambitions and nationalist fanaticism. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the end of the Cold War, the “Russian threat” has never been so real and so urgent. Finland and Russia share a 1,340-kilometer land border, which has been invaded many times in modern times; Sweden and Finland share weal and woe, and the choice is very clear.
During this critical period, the two female prime ministers of Finland and Sweden (and of course Finnish President Niinisto) quickly observed and implemented public opinion, showed a decisive and capable style, promoted a major shift in national defense and foreign policy, and cooperated with NATO for many years in the two countries. To move forward on the solid foundation of women’s power can be said to set an example for women’s politics and women’s diplomacy. The two female prime ministers are at their peak in the spring and autumn, and we expect them to make more contributions to the world situation, and also expect more female leaders in the international political arena! (Finish)
The full text is easy to read and share: Yan Jiyu’s column: Two female leaders who changed European geopolitics
About the Author｜ Yan Jiyu (Master of the Institute of Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University, has long been engaged in interdisciplinary translation and international news reporting and commentary work, and is currently the executive deputy editor-in-chief of “Wind Media”.)
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This article is reprinted from: https://sehseh.substack.com/p/ade
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