This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000075 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR PINR FI
SUBJECT: PAAVO LIPPONEN'S SILLY SEASON COMMENTS ON NATO AND 
THE U.S. 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOFORN. PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Finnish Speaker of Parliament and former Prime 
Minister Paavo Lipponen prompted a media feeding frenzy this 
week when he publicly criticized Conservative (CONS) 
presidential candidate Sauli Niinisto's increasingly pro-NATO 
arguments and urged caution toward NATO membership because it 
would "make Finland an ally of the United States."  Such 
commentary surprised us as well as many Finns; Lipponen has 
long been one of Europe's staunches advocates of a strong 
trans-Atlantic security relationship and, indeed, is widely 
viewed as the leader of a growing faction within the Social 
Democratic Party (SDP) that favors joining NATO.  Some 
commentators have defended Lipponen, saying he made his 
comments in the context of an increasingly heated election 
battle and as part of a strongly worded endorsement of fellow 
SDP member Tarja Halonen's re-election bid.  Nevertheless, 
the vast majority (including, of course, Niinisto's camp) 
have accused Lipponen of abandoning -- or at least 
sacrificing temporarily -- his long-held views for the sake 
of supporting Halonen, with whom he has often disagreed on 
NATO and other trans-Atlantic questions. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On Jan. 26, Charge called Lipponen to hear his side 
of the story.  He welcomed the call with warmth and good 
humor, joking that he was "glad to have the opportunity to 
explain this before they send a team in from Washington." 
The press, Lipponen said, had misread his attempt to clarify 
for voters some of the misleading statements Candidate 
Niinisto had made during the campaign.  Niinisto has argued 
that Finland should consider eventual membership in a "more 
European NATO," implying wrongly -- in Lipponen's view -- 
that the U.S. role in NATO is somehow declining.  My 
comments, he continued, simply sought to remind voters that 
the U.S. remains the predominant player in NATO, which is a 
good thing but which also should not be ignored.  He 
emphasized that there has been no change in his views:   He 
sees a close relationship with the U.S. as crucial to 
European security; will continue to promote a close bilateral 
Finnish-US relationship that, for now, stops short of Finnish 
membership; and considers eventual Finnish NATO membership as 
favorable, once the political leadership has convinced the 
general public of its merits.  Regarding the last point, 
Lipponen added, the GOF's position is that NATO membership 
must be addressed carefully and systematically, and cannot be 
rushed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: Charge's call confirmed what we already 
knew: Lipponen has certainly not abandoned his stance on NATO 
or his largely pro-American views; indeed, his private 
comments track closely with views he has long espoused. 
However, we also suspect a bit of "silly season" opportunism 
in his public comments.  Lipponen has proven himself as a 
pragmatic, forward-thinking statesman on the European stage; 
still, he retains his instincts as a party politician at home 
and is not above a bit of political expediency. 
HYATT