Finland asks: Does the prime minister have a right to party?
HELSINKI — In a leaked video, Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin is seen dancing and singing with friends at a private party. The 36-year-old leader poses for the camera. She sits on her knees, hands behind her head. She’s entangled in a group hug. She’s having a good time.
Countless similar videos are shared daily on social media by young and not-so-young people partying in Finland and all over the world. But the leak has triggered a debate among Finns about what level of reveling is appropriate for a prime minister, especially considering neighboring Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which prompted long-neutral Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership.
Marin, who leads the center-left Social Democratic Party, has faced a barrage of questions about the party: Were there drugs? Alcohol? Was she working or on summer vacation? Was the prime minister sober enough to handle an emergency had one arisen?
The video, clearly shot by someone at the party, was leaked on social media.
Marin acknowledged that she and her friends celebrated in a “boisterous way” and that alcohol — but, to her knowledge, no drugs — was involved. She said Friday that she took a drug test to put an end to speculation.
“I hope that in the year 2022 it’s accepted that even decision-makers dance, sing and go to parties,” Marin told reporters. “I didn’t wish for any images to be spread, but it’s up to the voters to decide what they think about it.”
The prime minister, who is married and has a 4-year-old daughter, has often insisted that even though she’s the head of Finland’s government, she’s just like anyone else her age who likes a good time with friends and family in their leisure time.
In Helsinki on Friday afternoon, opinions were split.
Josua Fagerholm, who works in marketing, said the episode was potentially damaging to Finland’s reputation and to the public’s confidence in Finnish politicians.
“I think it’s important for our politicians to be respectable and enjoy the trust of the public. So I don’t think it’s a good look,” he said.
Mintuu Kylliainen, a student in Helsinki, disagreed. She said everyone was entitled to their opinion, but she felt the leaked video was getting too much attention.
“It’s normal to, like, party,” Kylliainen said. “She should have fun, too, in her life.”
Some supporters say the criticism against the prime minister smacks of sexism.
Marin became Finland’s youngest prime minister in 2019 at age 34. Even in the egalitarian Nordic country, Marin felt her gender and age sometimes received too much emphasis. She told Vogue magazine in 2020 that “in every position I’ve ever been in, my gender has always been the starting point — that I am a young woman.”
Anu Koivonen, a professor of gender studies at Finland’s University of Turku, said she didn’t think gender was a decisive factor in the uproar.
“That she didn’t restrain herself in a company where she cannot trust everyone in the room,” Koivonen said. “I think that’s the main issue.”