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Tarja Halonen: Elections
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After her narrow election victory in the first election, Halonen's approval ratings rose and reached a peak of 88% in December 2003. In a survey made in February 12, 2006 her approval rate was at 74%. She is widely regarded as an easily approachable and down-to-earth person. Halonen has often been compared to "Moominmamma", a mother-figure from the comic strips and books created by Tove Jansson. Many people appreciate that she has made a career from modest circumstances due to her own competence, which has great value for meritocracy-minded Finns. Halonen was nominated as one of the top ten members of the "Suuret Suomalaiset" (greatest Finns) TV special in 2004, the only living person to be included.
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President Tarja Halonen won a second six-year term in Finland's presidential run-off election by a thin margin on January 29. Halonen, the country's first woman president, beat off "conservative" challenger, Vice President of the European Investment Bank Sauli Niinisto of the National Coalition Party with 51.8 % of the vote, and with only 112 000 votes.
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After the initial publicity received by O'Brien's sketch, Halonen's re-election campaign started advertising on the Finnish broadcast of Late Night. The link with O'Brien sparked some debate over his effect on the election. On January 28, 2006, O'Brien announced that Late Night would visit Finland in February 2006, which he did. He met with Tarja Halonen on February 14, and Conan presented her with a heart-shaped box of chocolates. They then sat down and during the relaxed discussion, Halonen asked Conan if she looks more like his mother or his father, and joked "You have ... made a great favor for us, because I think that at least now quite many more Americans know where Finland is."
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On October 11 , 2005 , American late night talk show host Conan O'Brien pointed out on his show that he resembles Tarja Halonen after meeting a Finnish man in the audience before the show. Since then he has done many comedy bits about that fact, including one that promoted Halonen for second term. Halonen's appearance in American popular culture received publicity in Finland. About a week and a half after the initial show, Conan showed actual Finnish newspaper articles which commented on the resemblance, one calling them "like two berries." After the initial publicity received by O'Brien's sketch, Tarja Halonen's re-election campaign started advertising on the Finnish broadcast of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
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At the start of the 2000 elections, Halonen placed only fourth in the polls. Her arch rival, conservative former Prime Minister Esko Aho, made much of her unconventionality and leftwing positions, especially to his rural constituents. Still, by the January 16 election, Halonen had 39.9 percent of the vote, compared to Aho's 34.6 percent. That was not sufficient to win... as over 50 percent of the vote was required for victory. Thus, there was a tense runoff election between the two on February 6. This time, Halonen captured 51.6 percent of the vote, as opposed to her opponent's 48.4, and she became Finland's first female head of state.
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The votes freed from the right-wing party candidates - mainly Matti Vanhanen - do not appear to have moved much in favour of Tarja Halonen. For example, Halonen gained slightly more than average, that is, 6.4 percentage points of votes in the rural municipalities of the constituency of Vaasa, but on the other hand, Sauli Niinistö gained in the same area as much as 48.9 percentage points of votes compared with the first round of the election. The change was very similar to this in the constituencies of Central Finland, North Savo, North Karelia, Oulu and Lapland. In total, Sauli Niinistö gained 24.1 percentage points compared with the first round.
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