No direct elections for Finland's president

The first round of Finland's presidential elections takes place on Sunday. The future president will have fewer powers than his predecessor. The tabloid Iltalehti consequently finds direct presidential elections inappropriate: "The political leader in Finland is the prime minister. The political driving force is the government, which answers to the parliament. The president heads foreign policy together with the government. So constitutionally the trend is clear: parliamentarianism has won. As regards the presidential elections, it's obvious that a direct election by the people is not really in accord with the spirit of the constitution. Direct elections confer a greater status on the post than the constitution allows for. This is a contradiction that will no doubt be discussed in the future."

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