For Emmanuel Macron, more babies are vital to maintain France's national vigour. Italy's Georgia Meloni has made encouraging more Italian women to give birth a top.
For Emmanuel Macron, more babies are vital to maintain France's national vigour. Italy's Georgia Meloni has made encouraging more Italian women to give birth a top priority. But, demographers and economists say, Europe's attempts to boost its flagging birth rate are missing the mark.
Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party is the frontrunner in Finland's presidential run-off on Sunday, according to opinion polls, as the Nordic country elects a new leader of its security and foreign policy. The vote marks a new era in Finland, which for decades has elected presidents to foster diplomacy, in particular with neighbouring Russia, and opted not to join military alliances so it could soothe tensions between Moscow and NATO. But Finns changed their minds about playing that role after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in a rapid u-turn that led to Finland joining NATO in April last year.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party led in the run-off of Finland's presidential election on Sunday, with 52.7% support from ballots cast in advance, justice ministry data showed.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Alexander Stubb declared himself winner of Finland's presidential election on Sunday after a campaign built on promises to make the most of his country's new membership of NATO and back Ukraine in its war with shared neighbour Russia.