Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has faced some backlash after a video of her dancing with her friends was released – but Twitter is absolutely here for it.
Marin, who was the world’s youngest prime minister when she was elected at 34 in 2019, was seen partying with well-known Finnish personalities from politicians to media anchors, in footage shared on Instagram this week.
She can be seen dancing and joking around with a crowd in several different clips which went viral.
Some people in the Finnish media claim they could hear people in the background talking about cocaine – leading an MP from Marin’s coalition partner Centre Party, to call for the prime minister to take a drug test.
Initially, in a press conference on Thursday, Marin refused such a test, and said she was only drinking – and not heavily.
“I danced, sang, and partied – perfectly legal things. And I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen or known of others [using drugs].”
She attacked the person who leaked the videos too, saying: “I trusted that since the videos are private and published at a private event, they would not be published. It feels bad that they have been published.”
The prime minister continued: “I have a family life, I have a work life and I have free time to spend with my friends. Pretty much the same as many people my age.”
Marin was eventually pressured into taking a drug test on Friday, and the results will be released next week. She told reporters that she has never taken drugs, and promised: “I did nothing illegal.”
However, it seems like most people on Twitter supported her:
A few accounts even compared it to UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who has been caught dancing in public on several occasions and who was fined for attending an illegal party during lockdown.
Marin caused a similar stir last December when she had a night out after someone else in the Finnish government tested positive for Covid.
She apologised at the time, and said she missed the text about the positive test because it had gone to her work phone, which she did not take with her on the night out.
As soon as she read the message the following morning, she tested herself and was negative for Covid.
But, she wrote on Facebook that she should have double-checked the guidance, saying: “I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that.”