WORLD
Finland's President suggests shortening presidential term
Baku, November 5, AZERTAC
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö wants to shorten the length of the presidential term of office in Finland, reports the regional newspaper Savon Sanomat.
Niinistö said in an interview with the paper that the term should be shortened, as the current six-year term is exceptionally long.
Finnish law currently limits a president's total time in office to two terms, or 12 years in total.
The president says that a four or five-year term would be a better model, with three four-years terms possible if the current 12-year limit continues, or two five-year terms if the limit would be reduced to 10 years total.
He said the problem is not that the government changes every four years in the middle of the presidential term, as Niinistö said that the longer presidential term also brings continuity, but rather the sticking point is the nature of the work, as it is very demanding and requires a high level of commitment.
"In opposition to general opinion, it is very time intensive job," Niinistö said.