FINLAND’S ex-Prime Minister has revealed her frustration over becoming better known for her shimmy than her four years governing the country.
Sanna Marin, 40, was dubbed the “coolest politician in the world” due to her relaxed style of leadership, but quickly came under fire after clips emerged of her dancing.
Now, two years after she left office, she’s revealed she is still better known for her dance moves than what she accomplished as PM.
She told the New York Times: “That night was, maybe, six hours of my life”.
In a bid to reclaim her image, she’s written a memoir in which she argues she fought to create a “world where you can, yes, dance freely when the day’s work is done.”
The clip was first published online by the the Finnish tabloid newspaper, Evening newspaperand shows Marin dancing, singing and drinking with pals in what appears to be an apartment.
The swathe of attention that followed, Marin said, was propelled by a “layer of misogyny”.
She said: “Nobody ever asked a male leader: ‘How can you come to work today and be that professional you, when you yesterday went to a pub with your guy friends?’”
When Marin became prime minister of Finland in 2019, she was just 34 – making her the world’s youngest sitting PM.
She successfully led her country through Covid, with a very low death toll, and steered Finland into Nato‘s ranks – all while mothering a toddler at home.
But just months after announcing Nato membership, the videos leaked and Marin found herself at the centre of a wild media storm.
The clips spread like wildfire and triggered global speculation over whether or not she had taken drugs.
Determined to preserve her reputation, she paid for a drugs test which turned out to be negative.
Today, she’s still fuming at the uproar and insists no man would ever have been treated in the same way.
The scandal, however, thrust Finland into the spotlight with women across the world, sharing dances of solidarity.
Who is Sanna Marin?
SANNA Marin is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023.
She was raised by her mother and her mother’s partner, and has spoken about growing up in a same-sex “rainbow family”.
At age 34, she became one of the youngest world leaders. She led Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic and guided the country’s decision to apply for NATO membership in 2022.
After leaving office and stepping down as leader of the Social Democratic Party, she moved into international work, including joining the Tony Blair Institute as a strategic adviser.
Essi Poyry, who researches political marketing at the University of Helsinki, said: “Before, she was just a prime minister of a Nordic country,”
“It was a major turning point,’ he added.
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The video posted on social media shows Marin with Finnish singer Alma, rapper Petri Nygard as well as TV host Tinni Wikstrom, influencers and members of her own Social Democratic party.
The clip was then published online by the Finnish tabloid newspaper, Evening newspaperand shows Marin dancing, singing and drinking with pals in what appears to be an apartment.
At one stage someone off-camera refers to “powder gang”, seen as alluding to cocaine, although Marin strenuously denied seeing any drugs at the bash.
Other social media users said the party-goer was more likely referring to a popular Finnish alcoholic drink which sounds similar in Finnish to “powder gang”.
Marin’s supporters came out to defend the politician, dubbed the “coolest prime minister in the world” by German news site image.
As one of the world’s youngest leaders, Marin made no secret of her love of going out with friends and has often been pictured at music festivals.
“I don’t remember a single time that there was a sudden situation in the middle of the night to go to the State Council Palace,” she previously said. “I think my ability to function was really good.
“There were no known meetings on the days I was partying.”
Some have even claimed that the leaking of the videos was part of a mission by Russia to discredit the PM, who has tried to get her country – which shares a land border with Russia – into NATO, to the fury of Putin.
Finnish cybersecurity expert Petteri Jarvinen, quoted in the newspaper Iltalehti at the weekend, warned that Russia may have hacked the phone or social media accounts of someone close to the prime minister.
Women in Finland have also called out the supposed double standards faced by Marin as a young woman and mother in politics.
But gender studies professor Anu Koivunen at the University of Turku in Finland said she didn’t believe gender was the major issue with the leaked video.
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She said, the fact the video was leaked could be seen as a judgement lapse by the prime minister.
“That she didn’t restrain herself in company where she cannot trust everyone in the room,” she said. “I think that’s the main issue at the moment.”