Democratic Finland's entry into Nato is a defensive response to Vladimir Putin's aggression – Scotsman comment

When Sanna Marin became Prime Minister of Finland in 2019, she could hardly have expected her time in office to be so dominated by two massive global events: Covid and then Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has graciously conceded defeat in national elections (Picture: Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images)

However, as she conceded defeat in the national elections to the centre-right National Coalition Party, saying “democracy has spoken”, Marin could be sure of one thing: her legacy will include Finland’s membership of Nato. Today her country becomes the 31st member of the defensive alliance.

The peaceful handover of power to a political opponent will not change that, given the near unanimity in once-neutral Finland about the need for powerful allies to protect against the threat posed by the bloodthirsty Russian dictator. In polls before the invasion, about a third of Fins backed joining Nato; after it, support shot up to nearly 80 per cent.

Putin, who has compared himself to Tsar Peter the Great, has no need to fear being ousted by any election at home, with his leading opponent, Alexei Navalny, in prison on trumped-up charges after narrowly surviving a poison attack that was undoubtedly the work of the state. The only way Putin can be brought down is by force, making him increasingly paranoid and determined to project an image of strength. Signs of weakness, he knows, could be his downfall.

Nato membership for Finland is a means to ensure its citizens remain free and able to decide who will lead them. Just across the border in Russia, people are required to submit to this one man’s tyranny, while in non-Nato Ukraine, lives continue to be lost as they bravely resist the same fate.