Finnish Public Trust in U.S. Leadership Hits Historic Low

Public confidence in the United States has dropped sharply in Finland, with a clear majority of the population now viewing their crucial defense partner as unstable and unpredictable.

The findings come from the Autumn 2025 Values and Attitudes survey published Tuesday by EVA, a leading Finnish business and policy think tank.

According to the report, 73 percent of Finns now consider the US to be an unstable and unpredictable global actor.

This marks a significant shift from just two years ago, when only 35 percent of respondents held the same view.

The timing is notable for Finland, which abandoned decades of military non-alignment to join the NATO alliance in April 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Because Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, reliable US support is widely considered a cornerstone of Finnish national security.

However, 47 percent of survey respondents now view the US as an unreliable treaty partner.

Nearly half of Finns, or 49 percent, believe President Donald Trump has quickly turned the US from a friend of Europe into an opponent.

Sami Metelinen, the managing editor at EVA who authored the analysis, noted that the data was collected in October 2025.

“The results suggest that this is a broader weakening of trust rather than just a momentary reaction to individual events,” Metelinen said.

The survey also highlights a growing perception of the US as an expansionist power, a view now held by 51 percent of Finns, up 27 percentage points from 2023.

Despite these concerns, the Finnish public recognizes the ongoing necessity of the transatlantic relationship.

A large majority, 71 percent, still view the US as an important trade partner.

More than half of the respondents also agree that, despite its internal problems, the US remains a central defender of Western values and a vital partner for Finland.

“A new underlying tone is visible in Finns’ attitudes toward the United States: the need for cooperation is recognized, but trust in the partner’s predictability has weakened,” Metelinen stated.

He added that in an already uncertain world, having an unpredictable partner is perceived as especially risky.

The survey highlighted political divides regarding the US administration’s MAGA movement.

While left-leaning and Green party voters were highly critical, 66 percent of voters from the populist Finns Party and 35 percent from the center-right National Coalition Party believe the movement addresses genuine problems.

The survey was conducted between October 7 and 20, 2025, involving 2,038 respondents with a margin of error of two to three percentage points.