Poll: Finnish support for Nato membership still low
An annual survey published on Thursday found Finnish support for joining Nato almost unchanged at 25 percent. There has, however, been a big increase in the proportion of those surveyed who see Russia as a negative influence in Finnish society.
A poll published on Thursday suggests that the proportion of Finns who see Russia as a negative influence in Finland has risen. The Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI) found that 50 percent of those it surveyed viewed Russia as a negative influence, up from 28 percent in 2010.
Just six percent of respondents viewed Russia’s influence as purely positive, while one in four of those surveyed said that Russia is both a positive and negative influence.
Support for Finnish membership of Nato has remained stable at 25 percent, slightly down on the 27 percent recorded in 2015. Some 61 percent of those asked said that they oppose Nato membership, up from 58 percent last year.
ABDI interviewed some 1,000 people between 22 September and 11 October 2016. The survey’s margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canadian military trains to respond to Arctic earthquake, Radio Canada International
Finland: Finnish Air force to take part in joint Finnish-Swedish-US military exercises, Yle News
Norway: Norway patrolling Russia’s military activity in Arctic with new intelligence vessel, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Paratrooper exercises over Arctic Russia, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: New security landscape in the Arctic, Radio Sweden
United States: U.S. general says Alaska military cuts not final without Arctic plan, Alaska Public Radio Network
