Choose the Finnish president based on pictures!

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I remember some of those faces from last time around. Didn't #8 win?

[notyoueither]

3 or 4

[Spiffor]

Clearly, #6 looks like Finnness incarnate

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Why can't there be hot female politicians?

[Ninot]

Conan

[Pekka]

TEF, because there are, and they are EXTREMELY STUPID. Like our hotness.. I mean, I would vote leftist before her, even though she's in the centre party.

[Mercator]

I vote 3. It's a shame she isn't standing a bit more to the left though. That lamp, or whatever it is, would've looked like a halo.

Originally posted by Harry Tuttle
1 then 3 then 4. No 2 looks like a pompous ass with his "thinker" pose. 5 is ugly, 6 looks somewhat evil in an "evil headmaster" sort of way, 7 looks like he diddles children, and 8, well 8 looks like he's a bit goofy and would have as much fun being president as he would if someone gave him a can of Reddi Whip.

[Jonny]

Originally posted by joncha
I voted for Conan O'Brien

QFT

[Berzerker]

Interesting test, makes you try to think like a detective exploring different avenues of adducement.

no sh*t Sherlock

anyway, while I'm sure a more right party would put up a woman to win points demographically, I figure the women are more to the left in general. Young people are usually more idealistic and therefore more radical than older people who've moderated a bit moving closer to the "center" (except the more dogmatic of course like me ). That would lead me to believe the more radical people on the left and right are younger. For my politics I'd look for the candidate who will leave people alone the most, i.e., the most libertarian (yeah, its radical).

Of the women, #3 looks like she spent her youth growing up in the 60-70s while 6 is a bit older. So I'd say #6 is the more fiscally conservative and #3 is socially more libertarian, but neither would be too far from the center. They both look serious and respectable enough, i.e., suitably conformist to middle age life.

Of the men, 4 and 7 appear oldest but 4 looks too much like the boozing left wing pol we see in people like Ted Kennedy, so 7 would be less intrusive fiscally. The youngest is #8 and should be the most radical, and that grin is goofy enough to be from a more fringe party, i.e., more radical. Its just a question of radical left or radical right. He looks like someone a Finnish libertarian party would put up.

Of the remaining 3 (1,2,5), I dont know what #2 was thinking when he apparently posed for that, but it aint very conformist. That could be good or bad, he may still be a bit radical. But he looks too Ivory Towerish, busy minds think up more ways to intrude upon people, i.e., socially engineer society. I cant get a decent read on #5, he looks more principled which I like, but a principled commie-socialist aint kosher. #1 looks a bit conservative but I imagine Finnish conservatives are like center-leftists here - too much of a centrist.

My prefs: from more libertarian > more authoritarian

8, 5, 7, 6, 1, 3, 2 ,4 (into 3 groups with 8-5 the most radical, 7,6,1, 3 more centrist with 2-4 to the left.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

So the basic criteria for libertarianism is looking like a bullfrog stuffed into a suit? You know, I sort of suspected it was something like that.

[Ecthy]

Pekka - they're Finnish, so they're probably all sort of commie anyway.

Laz, was there ever any different criteria?

[Datajack Franit]

Christ, if these are scary you should see Pizza Politicians

[Sandman]

1. Red skin suggests a drink problem. He didn't used to be a football manager, did he?

2. Looks a bit creepy. Has too many buttons on his suit - what's he trying to hide?

3. Nice twinkly image. Gold watch. Horrible veiny hand.

4. Looks like a nice, harmless, inoffensive uncle who is only scary when he gets drunk (on power?).

5. Gangster. Enjoys drowning snitches in pigsh*t.

6. Dinner Lady.

7. Annoying pushy manager. A checked shirt: good for lumberjacks, bad for presidents.

8. Looks like a freshly-dead American nobody.

[JohnT]

I'm going with the guy who looks like he is beginning to realize he's to be a salesman his entire life...

#1, with a bullet.

[Barnabas]

isnt finland one of those wealthy countries with insanely high gdp per capita where everything works fine?

does finland have some serious problem now , which could make this election more relevant?