Mr Pekka Haavisto, the acting chair of The green party, outed his HX views in parlamentary interview earlier this week. Mr Haavisto felt that US withdrawal from Paris climate treaty automatically disqualifies US fighters from HX program. This would of course be bad news for Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Mr Haavisto is currently favorite prime minister for the Finns, regardless of party. But the Green Party is so marginal that he will not be a prime minister. (so this translates Mr Haavisto has a good image within the woteing population, but his party does not share this trait.)

Needless to say his outing of idea met heavy flak from other parties and acting minister of defense Mr Jussi Niinistö and Ilkka Kanerva from the liberal right advised mr Haavisto that HX program should go capabilities first in assessment.

Never the less as Green (fighters from Europe) and Communists (only 37 HX fighters) with SDP (fighters only from Sweden) and who are only too happy to appease Kremlin’s kleptocracy, could really spell doom for Finnish Air Forces wartime capabilities. Also this would effectively start a new round of “Finnlandisierung” in the republic and land Finland firmly in the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.

So really Finland’s elections in April 2019 are really about Finland’s independence. I pointed out earlier that this would be good for SAAB Gripens’s bid, but as the Greens and SDP are very EU oriented parties, I would count Dassault Rafale far from being out, as France would be in excellent position to wield a influence against Finland in EU. It is good to remember that politics are really big issue in every fighter bid. And now it seems Gripen and Rafale are going to score big in political sphere in April.