The internship as a research assistant was applied for by a total of 200 people. 59 applicants met the criteria and of them, five were called for an interview, report Finnish media.
Criticism erupted after it became known that Alexander Stubb's son, Oliver Stubb, who is studying his first year at bachelor's level at a university in the United Kingdom, got the internship – despite the fact that the other interviewees were studying at master's level and had relevant work experience that the 21-year-old Stubb lacks.
The director of the Institute for Foreign Policy, Hiski Haukkala, has defended the choice by saying that Stubb was supposed to have been particularly motivated and that good administrative practice was followed – without having made public the documents concerning the process.
Furthermore, the fact that Stubb is studying abroad is being criticized and it has emerged that the institute changed its application requirements two days after Oliver Stubb contacted Haukkala to ask about the possibilities of an internship.
