Stubb is on his way to becoming the most unpopular, cold-hearted, and inhuman president Finland has ever had. His statements about Palestine and Israel correlate with the foreign policy of the U.S. State Department, depicting Stubb as a puppet and a mouthpiece of the White House.
Recently, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has refused to accept to receive seriously ill and injured children from Gaza to get medical care in Finland. This reflects a similar attitude to that of its president, Alexander Stubb.
Pro-American, against humanity
In his statement, Stubb used elaborate terms and wordplay. For example, he used “values-based realism,” referring to anything from his personal interests and pragmatism to promoting U.S. interests in the Middle East and Europe. It is not the first time Finland’s politicians and ministries have supported American policy. In recent years, Finland has become the foothold for the U.S. in its quest for global economic and military dominance, both of which are currently failing, raising questions about Finland’s alignment with the U.S.
Even before becoming president, Stubb depicted himself as the mouthpiece for the White House, repeating the narrative carefully orchestrated by the U.S. government. Showing his determination to continue support for Ukraine regardless of costs, he fails to understand that the U.S. is not at the forefront, but Europe is. Forsaking diplomacy and pushing for a military solution is the undesirable solution to the current status quo.
There will be a post-war Europe regardless of Stubb’s warmongering and pursuit of self-interest. The Finnish president should consider his statements more diplomatic, as they are necessary for a peaceful Europe.
While politicians engage in their power struggles, it’s the Ukrainian people, primarily civilians, who bear the brunt of the West’s failed diplomacy. The human cost is staggering, surpassing what Ukraine’s former president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is willing to acknowledge.
It is not surprising that Stubbs’s statements favor the U.S. approach, as he previously said he is pro-America. That puts him in the same category as Finland’s previous president, Sauli Niinistö, whose American values pushed Finland’s NATO membership and later led to the signing of the DCA agreement with his love interest, the United States.
The lost humanitarian values
It is not only the Finnish president that shows favoritism among the weak and wounded. The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is providing Ukraine with preferential treatment over seriously injured children in Gaza. Even though the WHO and EU Commission have asked nations to organize the much-needed care, the ministry has stated that it has no intention of accepting any wounded Palestinian children from Gaza to receive medical care in Finland. The ministry noted, “Finland does not have the necessary resources to respond to patient evacuation requests.”
The statement highlights the Ministry’s plan and contradicts its previous decisions to provide needed help through UN agencies like UNRWA, even though on January 27, 2024, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs announced that “Finland will suspend its funding to UNRWA.”
The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio, who is a strong supporter of Israel, was the minister who decided to suspend the UNRWA funding. It is not the first time Tavio has shown his preference towards Israel, as he previously stated that trade relations with Israel are far more important than the lives of Palestinian children.
However, when Ukraine needed assistance in 2022, Finland was among the first to offer its resources to help suffering Ukrainians. Finland provided Ukrainians with not only healthcare but also social services. Also, the University Hospitals around Finland committed themselves to receiving wounded soldiers from Ukraine for treatment in Finland. Tampere University Hospital’s chief physician, Juhani Sand, stated in 2022 that despite staff shortages, ” in this exceptional situation (in Ukraine), we are doing our small part to assist victims of war wherever necessary.”
Today, it seems that the Finnish government’s mandate is not to help victims of wars, regardless of the nationality of the injured, so what has changed? Is the issue of receiving patients from Gaza more of a political issue than a concern of adequate resources?