Sport, body and power: Reassessing the myth of President Kekkonen

Abstract

... [he] has maintained the physical condition of a brisk 40-year-old and his long, lean ‘thinker’s’ arms contrast with his ‘carpenter’s’ body. Every morning, he goes running in the forest surrounding his apartment; he high jumps, skis, fishes and hunts. In the hall, a catch from the forest is waiting: the antlers of an elk that [he] has shot in the surroundings of Yalta... Is this, perhaps, a depiction of the strongman of Russian politics, Vladimir Putin? The portrayal would no doubt suit Putin well – he has, after all, often hit the international press headlines with his athletic displays of machismo (e.g. Halpin 2009, Osborn 2010, Parfitt 2010). But Putin is not the first political leader to utilize performances of sporting prowess in the creation of his public image. Probably the best-known example from history is the President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, who constructed himself an exaggerated masculine image through leading a ‘strenuous life’ and participating in manly exercises such as boxing, wrestling, hiking, hunting and riding. Roosevelt succeeded so well in the masculinization of his public persona that he is still invoked as an embodiment of the turn-of-the-20th-century manliness (Bederman 1995, Testi 1995). A Finnish counterpart for Roosevelt is President Urho Kekkonen, whom the above quote in fact portrays (Pajunen 1962). 1 In this article, I examine Kekkonen’s athletic and able-bodied image and its significance for his power in the light of men and masculinities studies. Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (1900–1986) was the President of the Republic of Finland for a quarter of a century 2 and is one of the best-known Finnish statesmen of all time. Yet, Kekkonen was not ‘only’ a politician but also a renowned sportsman and keep-fit enthusiast. Kekkonen’s excellent physical condition and his regular outdoor activities were an integral part of his public persona. In particular, the president’s reputation as a skier reached legendary proportions. Kekkonen’s public image was carefully controlled by the president and his office. The image stressed not only Kekkonen’s political power but also his down-to-earth manners and folksy sense of humour. Very early on, the image building turned into conscious myth-making and eventually, some kind of political personality cult was born around