Congrats Alex Stubb MEP (yes, he of the website full of really bizarre photos) on his recently-announced promotion following the highly entertaining mobile phone sex scandal.

That makes two Scandinavian countries with bloggers as Foreign Ministers (the other being Sweden’s Calr Bildt, formerly of Bildt Comments fame). With David Miliband doing the blogging Foreign Secretary thing for the UK, does this mean that Britain is finally acknowledging our northern heritage?

Let face it, us Brits are all pretty much Scandinavian when you get down to it – the Angles (of Anglo-Saxon fame) were pretty much from Denmark, the Normans were originally Vikings (the name coming from “Norse men”, or something), and most of the north of England was under Scandinavian rule for centuries.

Plus, of course, we’ve got the Scandinavian booze habit. And a tendency to rape and pillage when we go abroad – especially to Ibiza and the Costa del Sol.

One of the strangest assertions of the withdrawalist anti-EU camp is that if Britain were to pull out, she would instantly become independent and able to act freely, unhindered by legislation from Brussels that they see as damaging and unnecessary. (Which, to be fair, much of it is – but that’s beside the point…)

Of course, as long as the EU exists and dominates the continent, any other European powers – especially those, like Britain, whose trade is overwhelmingly with their continental neighbours – will find the EU shaping their economies whether they like it or not. Switzerland has to follow numerous EU laws and regulations (in which it has no say) despite not being a member; so does Norway, often hailed as an ideal model for a non-EU UK.

Often forgotten, however, is Iceland. Not a member of the EU, but still – with Switzerland and Norway – a member of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), which many proponents of a British EU pull-out reckon we should join after severing links with Brussels.

And yet now Iceland is considering joining the Eurozone:

Richard Portes, author of an independent report on the Icelandic economy, said that unilateral euroisation was feasible and need not limit Iceland’s political independence. “Because of the exceptionally high degree of exchange rate passthrough into domestic prices and equally exceptional financial openness of Iceland, unilateral euroisation would not be sacrificing much effective monetary policy independence,” he told the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce.

In other words, as long as you’re a part of Europe and the EU exists, it’s going to have a major impact on the way your country runs. So surely it’s better to have some direct say in what the EU gets up to, no matter how limited? What’s the withdrawalist excuse for this one? I’m genuinely intrigued…

Update: Ah, it seems The Economist covered this a couple of weeks back. I really must get a subscription… (Oh, and on Certain Ideas of Europe too – that’s The Economist’s rather good Europe blog.)

Two days ago marked the 100th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Finland. Today they’ve got an election. Polls close in about an hour and a half, so it’s about to get interesting. (Well, possibly…)

Thanks to the way this is all likely to work out, we could well see a new Prime Minister emerge by the morning – which would mean that the EU loses one of its most sensible contributors, the self-described “Euro-pragmatist” Matti Vanhanen.

In other words, there could well be a wider impact than just a few alterations to the reindeer supply… Worth paying attention to.

First up, check out Aapotsikko’s overview of the key issues, plus predictions. You could do a lot worse than hop around the rest of the blog to catch up on background. (Finland for Thought also has some decent election coverage.)

Then follow the results as they come in, and keep an eye on Finnish newspaper Helsingen Sannomat (in English), plus this useful news site (and another)

Wikipedia’s page on the elections is also likely to be helpful to those of us who don’t really know much about Finnish politics.

Any other suggestions of handy Finnish sites much appreciated.

10 pm Update: Well that was quick – two hours after the polls closed, 99% of the votes counted, and it looks like Vanhannen stays in by just one seat.

Update 2: Aapotsikko’s back with context and analysis

The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
It’s the country for me.

A run-off election because the incumbent president failed to take 50% of the vote? Meanwhile in the UK, it’s rare for any government to have over 40% – sometimes put down to the similarity between the parties these days, yet in Finland, where the President’s prime concern is foreign policy, “Both Ms Halonen and her main rival, Mr Niinisto, support Finland’s EU membership, its co-operation with Nato and its close ties to former foe, Russia.”

Best place for more info is probably Helsingen Sanomat – worth a gander, what with Finland taking over the EU presidency later in the year and all…

You’re so near to Russia,
So far from Japan.
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.

You’re so sadly neglected,
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.