SY’s Pentikäinen: Trump’s victory means “unpleasant things”

Mikael Pentikäinen says that in future, Europe must play a greater role in supporting Ukraine.

Mikael Pentikäinen, the CEO of Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association, says that Donald Trump’s election as US president is a sign of the country’s division.

“The United States is the Divided States,” Pentikäinen wrote in a recent blog post.

Pentikäinen has followed the elections from the front row in Washington, DC. Trump’s win is considered historic, as his path to the White House has been overshadowed by numerous legal battles. Trump is the second president in US history to return to the White House after losing an election. His defeat of his opponent, the Democrats’ Kamala Harris, was clearer-cut than had been expected.

“The American people, divided into two camps, has spoken, however, so now we need to crack on. Trump’s message, over several years of campaigning, about the economy, jobs, immigration and values, got significantly more support than Harris’s. She was only able to conduct a short electoral campaign,” Pentikäinen writes in his blog.

The Suomen Yrittäjät CEO foresees changes, as the Republicans have won the Senate and may win the House of Representatives. The “straight flush” would give the new president a strong mandate.

Pentikäinen points out that Trump is better prepared and more experienced than during his first term.

“In 2017, Trump was unprepared for power. He didn’t believe in his victory himself.”

“No insight into a Ukraine deal”

What does Trump’s win mean more broadly for global politics? “In foreign policy, the new president’s sights are firmly set on China, which many Republicans, in particular, consider themselves in a cold war with. China is felt to be challenging America’s global power and consciously arming itself to take Taiwan by force. Whereas for Finland and Europe China is a challenge, for the US it’s a political, economic and military threat which it wants to stop,” Pentikäinen writes.

He hopes that Trump will not escalate the situation but make a deal that could calm things down. The new president is expected to introduce significant tariffs on Chinese imports.

In Europe, the elections have been followed with bated breath from the perspective of Ukraine’s future. Pentikäinen says that the Chinese threat motivates the US to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to allow American troops to be moved from Europe and the Middle East to Asia.

“This could dampen China’s desires to pressurize Russia to make peace,” he writes, admitting that nobody has any insight into what a Trump deal to end the Ukraine war could entail.

“It’s clear that American support for Ukraine will decrease, and that Europe ought to take on a larger role in helping Ukraine. Time will tell whether a weak Europe can take a leading role.”

“The most important thing is to get defence in order”

Pentikäinen reminds readers that the US will continue to be a vital ally and export market for Finland.

“For Finland, the threat of China felt in the US, reduced support for Ukraine, the transfer of troops to Asia, heightened protectionism, possible import tariffs and Trump’s unpredictability are unpleasant things that we should prepare for seriously.”

The Suomen Yrittäjät CEO stresses that Finland should continue to build its future and take responsibility, not demand help from others with an outstretched hand.

“The most important thing is to get defence and the economy in order, both in Finland and Europe, even if Donald Trump is in the White House.”

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