Almost half the population of Finland supports holding a referendum on joining NATO
According to a survey conducted by Taloustutkimus market research company, almost half of residents of Finland support holding a referendum on joining NATO, Finish news portal, Yle reported. 48% of residents stated that they want a national referendum and 40% of respondents expressed their opposition. Mostly people over 65 years old supported the referendum. The opponents of the referendum, as a rule, were aged 35–49 years.
At the same time, media surveys, conducted jointly by the newspaper Aamulehti and commercial TV Channel MTV3, showed completely opposite results: 47% of Finns were reportedly against the referendum and 42% were in support of it.
Earlier, the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, stated that Finland would apply for NATO membership in case of a serious deterioration of security.