Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin met with Jacinda Ardern at an official ceremony this morning. Against the backdrop of global unrest, it took on added significance. Stewart Sowman-Lund was there.
It was on the “special request” of Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin that she sat down today on New Zealand soil with her counterpart, Jacinda Ardern.
While the two have never met, both have shared a number of similar headlines during their tenures. Both are among the youngest world leaders and experienced an unexpected surge to the top. Both are women – still something of a rarity in global politics. Both have history commanding somewhat unwieldy coalition governments (Marin leads a government comprised of five parties). And both have been criticised for under-delivering on their pledges to address climate change and for losing control of healthcare issues.
In the country for a brief three-day visit, Marin was this morning welcomed to the grounds of Auckland’s government house for a bilateral meeting. It was, according to Ardern, an opportunity to progress trade talks between our two nations. “We have quite a bit of importation from Finland,” she said, “we’d be keen to do a bit more exporting from New Zealand.” It was also a chance to discuss unstable geopolitical events, particularly those close to Finland’s own borders.
Addressing each other for the first time, Marin thanked Ardern for the opportunity to meet in person. “We don’t have a lot of women prime ministers,” she said. “I think we have a lot in common.” Ardern in turn said it was wonderful to welcome Marin to Aotearoa. “This is the first visit of a prime minister from Finland and so it is a deep honour for us.”
Following the 40-minute closed-doors bilateral between the two world leaders – which went slightly over time – the pair fronted media for a 15-minute press conference largely dominated by questions about the significance of the meeting. Just six questions were allocated to the media pack, with no follow-ups – this isn’t post-cab. There’s an unfortunate irony that in a meeting between two women leaders, the questions were largely about the significance of the meeting rather than politics. As Ardern pointed out – after a question about the two women meeting and being women – you wouldn’t ask Barack Obama whether he was meeting John Key simply because they were both men.
It’s also worth noting, as The Spinoff’s Anna Rawhiti-Connell did today, that some local media quickly latched onto the “party PM” moniker during their reporting. Marin, in response to a question from The Spinoff, said it wasn’t worth her even thinking about. “I don’t focus on it. I focus on other issues,” she said, citing matters like Covid-19, the Ukraine war, and an energy crisis that have dominated her time in office. “There are many things on my plate that are concerning, many different issues than my spare time – which are very spare. If the media wants to focus on it, I don’t have anything to say. You are free to discuss it and write what you want. I’m focusing on the issues that are in our programme.” (Ardern noted that Spinoff readers, too, “are probably focused on the issues as well”.)
Earlier, Marin was asked whether it was still difficult, even in countries like New Zealand or Finland, to show a “real side” as a female politician. Marin suggested it was, though added that she believed it was also important that politicians were held to account by the press. However: “I want to show an example that different kinds of people can be politicians. I think there should be room for people from different backgrounds, different genders, different generations. I think it’s very important to show the youngest generation that you can be yourself and still engage in politics,” she said.
“I think we must stand together for equality and human rights and make sure that women and girls across the world have the same rights [and] same opportunities as men. We have to make sure this becomes reality – and not just for the citizens of New Zealand or Finland.”
Asked to expand on why she had requested to visit New Zealand, Marin said that despite our geographical differences, our two countries had a lot in common – and at a time of great global upheaval, it was more important than ever to renew bonds. “I see a lot of possibilities between New Zealand and Finland, there are many things we share. We also have to make sure democratic countries are working together closely because of the geopolitical situation. We have to make sure we have trading routes and cooperation in the international forum,” said Marin.
Ardern agreed: “Our countries are aligned on incredibly important issues – we share a strong commitment to democratic values as the basis for open, tolerant, resilient, equal societies, and to multilateralism and a rules-based order that has underpinned global peace and prosperity since 1945.”
The two leaders will meet again tonight, after the prime minister’s return from what is likely to be a fairly soggy Fieldays. Ardern said this evening’s event will be more casual than the earlier closed doors meeting. It will be away from the media and conclude what has been a fleeting visit from Marin, who leaves the country tomorrow.