Is it OK for female leaders to look sexy?

NO

BY NOW, an awful lot of people have seen what Sanna Marin, the Finnish Prime Minister, looks like without a bra. Yes, she wore a low-cut blazer, but still we can see that she’s an attractive woman with lovely breasts.

Should I be saying that? Well, it’s hard not to, given the nature of the photograph (above), which featured in a fashion magazine.

The odd thing is, she told the magazine that she wanted people to ‘concentrate on policies, not [her] appearance’. So why, then, did she wear nothing under her jacket?

of course, we all know why not. every politician makes the most of themselves, and most of them aren’t as easy on the eye as Sanna, 34.

Her admirers in Finland say she can dress how she likes as a young woman, which doesn’t mean wearing the equivalent of a suit and tie. They have even tried to deflect the criticism by posting images of themselves in the same kit on Facebook. The results have been tragic in some cases… not everyone can carry off the look as well as Sanna.

And they’re wrong, because a female politician posing for an overtly sexual shot is wilfully distracting attention from what she’s saying. You can play the foxy vamp or you can put yourself across as a serious politician, but you can’t do both — not really.

If you’re asking people to see you as a serious thinker rather than just a pretty girl — and, until lately, Sanna was europe’s youngest head of government — then for goodness’ sake dress soberly, not like you’re out to pull. Male politicians can’t do it either. Boris isn’t quite the Adonis he was in his prime, but even if he were, we’d just laugh if he posed in a white tie and tails, with the shirt open suggestively to show his manly chest. It would make him lose what little gravitas he possesses.

The same goes for young women leaders, only more so, because they are more interesting to look at. You want voters to think about your take on Covid or migrancy issues? Then don’t present yourself as someone whose chief assets are her boobs.

Precisely because she’s so young, Sanna needs to accentuate the dignity of her office, not focus attention on her figure. She’s put Finland — once best known for Moomins and reindeer — on the map for the wrong reason.

This is not about a woman’s ability to break free of the male template of how to be a politician; it’s about the fact that any head of government has a responsibility to dress for the job, not for themselves.

right now, there’s a pandemic under way, and she needs to look like she’s in charge. Button up, Sanna.

It suggests her chief assets are her boobs