Naturally enough, the main focus of morning newspapers was on the presidential election victory by the National Coalition Party candidate Alexander Stubb over his rival, Green-backed independent Pekka Haavisto.
Aamulehti reminds readers that the main job of the Finnish president is to lead foreign policy, in cooperation with the current government.
As for being up to that job, both candidates passed the test with flying colours, says the paper, and both, it adds, would certainly have been good value leaders.
As for the campaign in the second round of the election, Aamulehti describes it as a "moderate, bloodless duel".
It goes on to say that the conclusion to be drawn from the voting is that a large proportion of the first-round supporters of Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) probably joined Stubb's camp. One can also imagine that the conservative wing of the Centre Party also voted more enthusiastically for Stubb than for Haavisto.
Centre-right appeal
The economic and business daily Kauppalehti writes that Stubb and the National Coalition Party can congratulate themselves. The presidency will remain in the hands of a person with a NCP background for at least the next six years. According to Kauppalehti, the campaign delivered what it set out to do.
A presidential election is an election of individuals, but parties play a major role, KL points out. Without party support, it is difficult to become president. That was the experience of [independent candidate] Mika Aaltola, whose candidacy was initially and mistakenly compared to that of Martti Ahtisaari. However, as the paper notes, Ahtisaari (who served as president from 1994 to 2000) was elected not only by a popular movement, but with the support of the Social Democratic Party machine.
KL goes on to point out that polls show that the centre-right parties have much higher support than the red-green front, with a roughly 65-35 split in favour of the centre-right. In the presidential election, this split was more clearly fragmented than was expected, making the race a tight one.
Initial analyses suggest that Finn Party voters, in particular, and perhaps also some Centre Party supporters, stayed home.
Knowledge, experience and cool-headedness
Karjalainen says that the final results in the election show that there were two excellent candidates in the running, either of whom would have given Finland a reliable and experienced president.
Knowledge, experience and cool-headedness are what the current world situation demands, states this Joensuu-based daily.
President-elect Alexander Stubb will take office in a more difficult situation than faced by his predecessors. The world situation is more tense than it has been for decades, and Finland has also had to consider preparing for possible conflicts and even war.
In Alexander Stubb, Finland will have a president with experience and expertise in foreign and security policy, as well as defence policy.
A strong international player, he is also known for his openness to new ideas. In today's rapidly changing world political situation, a certain lack of rigidity is one of the prerequisites for good leadership.
As a liberal, cultured and modern leader, Stubb has all the prerequisites to succeed in his demanding role as president of the whole nation, writes Karjalainen.
One team, three promises
Savon Sanomat carries an STT news agency report that following his Sunday evening win, Stubb said he was proud that it was possible to hold such a fair election in such a difficult world political situation.
"This is very rare in today's world. It was not decided by anything other than a fair contest. One or the other has to win in these situations. There was Pekka's team, there was Alex's team, but after this there is only the Finnish team," stated Stubb.
This was the third time Haavisto was a presidential candidate, but the final push did not carry him to the finish line. In remarks after the results were in, Haavisto stressed that he does not think of politics in terms of victories and disappointments, but through the lens of his passion for contributing to society.
"Different people are elected to different positions, and in my own political career I have seen ups, downs, wins and disappointments. The most important thing is that the elections were conducted in a good spirit, that Finland has a good leader and that the nation remains united," said Haavisto.
Thanking his campaign team, voters and his family Stubb made three promises.
"For the next six years, I will give my all, every single day. The second promise is that I will always and jointly put the interests of Finland first. The third promise is that I will do everything I can for this republic, that I will be a unifying factor in these times of unrest. Why? Because I love this country," said Alexander Stubb.
Straight to work
Helsingin Sanomat reports that Alexander Stubb did not have long to enjoy his victory, before being put into a tight spot by the international media.
Meeting with members of world press, Stubb was asked a two-part question. The first part was about at what point diplomatic talks could be resumed with Vladimir Putin's Russia. The second part was related to a statement by Donald Trump on Saturday saying that as US president he would encourage Russia to attack Nato countries that do not meet their financial obligations to the alliance.
Stubb stated that it is "rather self-evident that it's difficult to have any kind of political dialogue with Putin as long as Russia is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine. Of course we all want to see a path to peace, but it seems that at the moment that path is through the war zone."
Stubb did not directly comment on Trump's remarks. Instead, he began by saying that the Finnish presidential election had been "a victory for liberal democracy", adding that as someone who has lived and studied in the US, "I am fully aware that the nature of the US presidential election is slightly different."
Stubb managed to slip into his answer that Finland's defence spending this year will be 2.3 percent of GDP, above the Nato target of 2 percent.
"I want to see Finland in the core of Nato," he told the reporters. "We are a security provider, not a security consumer."
Pay cut
The salary of the President of the Republic is laid down by law. In 2013, President Sauli Niinistö had the annual pay for holder of the nation's highest office reduced from 160,000 to euros 126,000.
Iltalehti notes that according to tax data for 2022, Alexander Stubb's earned income in Finland was 14,000 euros.
Most of Stubb's income comes from abroad, so it does not show up in Finnish tax records. In TV interview during the campaign Stubb, said that as a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy he earned around 18,000 per month, which would amount to an annual income of around 216,000. Thus, as president, Stubb will take a fairly hefty pay cut.
His wife, Suzanne Innes-Stubb, earned 203,000 in 2022, according to Finnish tax records. She works as a lawyer for the elevator company Kone. The president's spouse does not receive any public remuneration.
Innes-Stubb has said she is still uncertain whether she will continue in her current job. During President Tarja Halonen's term, her husband Pentti Arajärvi brought a change to the norm. He continued to work as a researcher alongside his duties as first spouse.
Jenni Haukio, the current president's wife, also worked as a programme manager for the Turku Book Fair during her husband's presidency.
The formalities
Lapin Kansa explains some of the formalities still to come.
The president-elect takes office on the first day of the month following the election, this time it will be on Friday 1 March, when he makes a solemn declaration before Parliament.
The inauguration ceremonies will include a speech by the the new president in Parliament, an inspection of a guard of honour in front of Parliament House and further ceremonies at the Presidential Palace.
As is customary, the new president will renounce his party membership.
The new presidential couple's official residence will initially be the State Guest House in Helsinki's Munkkiniemi district, as renovation work is starting at the regular residence, Mäntyniemi, which is expected to last until spring 2026.
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