Majority of Finns now want to join NATO - poll

Reuters
·1 min read
Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of new NATO headquarters during the move to the new building

HELSINKI (Reuters) - For the first time, more than half of Finns are in favour of their country joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), according to a poll commissioned by public broadcasting company Yle.

Out of 1,382 adults, 53% said Finland should join the defence alliance, 28% said no and 19% were indecisive, the poll data showed.

The panel was weighed based on age, domicile and gender to represent the 5.5 million people nation, leaving an error margin of 2.5 percentage points, said the company that did the poll.

The poll was commenced on February 23, a day before Russia invaded Ukraine, Yle added.

The results show a swift change in attitudes, as two years ago just 20% were in favour in a poll commissioned by the largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, but that figure had less than two weeks ago risen to 43%.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto; Editing by Mark Porter)