Image: Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva

The authors of a report on Finland's failed Security Council membership campaign said that the issue of the Nordic “know-it-all” attitude reared its head in many of the interviews conducted for the study. In short, respondents described the Nordic people as “unpleasant”.

The report was produced by the US think tank the International Peace Institute, and examined Finland’s failed campaign to gain a revolving set on the UN Security Council.

"The core values which the Nordics stand for ... like human rights, the rule of law, the responsibility to protect, etcetera, is (sic) not necessarily that popular amongst the majority of the membership in the United Nations. And this is paired with a perception that the Nordics consider themselves to be morally superior, that there is a "besserwisser", condescending attitude towards others based on the values and ideological issues," Röd-Larsen explained.

“Not everyone likes this moralistic Nordic finger pointing. This is the problem with the Nordics. However Finland is one those countries that’s least guilty of this,” he added.

More attention to bilateral diplomacy

The think tank chief noted that Finland’s campaign focused heavily on UN issues, whereas it should have paid more attention to bilateral diplomacy.

According to the report, one takeaway from the experience is that Finland should streamline its profile and messaging in international matters.

IPI head Terje Röd-Larsen said there were many factors affecting the outcome of the Finnish campaign.

They ranged from the selection procedure to the Finns' actual campaign. Finland competed against Australia and Luxembourg, one of the smallest states in Europe.

On the other hand the report pointed out, elections come and go, and there are always winners and losers.

Tuomioja: Situation worse for Sweden

”The Nordics have joint nominations and there is a common perception, but that picture isn’t as attractive and as good in the eyes of others as we imagine,” Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said as he commented on the report.

Tuomioja added that there was small comfort in the fact that Sweden suffered even more catastrophically from the situation, having lost an important position on the Human Rights Council.

The Foreign Minister said that while he did not see any reason for the Nordics to give up their most cherished values, he intended to raise the matter with his peers at a meeting of Nordic foreign ministers.