Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin explains to the press on August 18, 2022 after the broadcast of compromising videos. MATIAS HONKAMAA / AFP
In videos broadcast by a national newspaper, Sanna Marin, 36, vigorously sways her hips in the company of politicians and artists.
It’s the “Finland Gate” of summer. In videos that have been circulating on social networks since Wednesday, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 36, shows herself unleashed in the company of her friends. The sequences, captured on Instagram and broadcast by the national daily Iltalehti, show the Social Democratic Party member on a dance floor, tight white jeans, swaying in front of the camera with such energy that netizens are wondering: Is her prime minister under the influence of drugs?
Especially since in one of the sequences, several guests, including politicians, artists and others close to the prime minister, alluded to a “flour gang,” a term commonly used to describe cocaine in the midst of drug addiction.
No Drugs, “Just Alcohol”
Without allowing herself to be destabilized, the Prime Minister defended herself against criticism. “These are private videos and not intended for the public,” she initially told the Iltalehti newspaper. The party, she explained to the Finnish press on Thursday, would have taken place a few weeks earlier. The evening would have started in one apartment, then another, before moving on to an “after” at a bar, then a second. “I danced and sang, I hugged my friends and I drank alcohol,” she confessed. “I have a family, a job and sometimes a bit of free time to take advantage of my friends.” So nothing unusual, says Sanna Marin.
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The Prime Minister also denies having used drugs, neither she nor her friends. “Just alcohol,” she says. As evidence of good faith, she says she is willing to undergo a screening test. “I have nothing to hide. I haven’t done any drugs, so I have no problem getting tested,” she told reporters. Besides, if “something illegal happened that night,” “then it would be more of a thing the police,” she said.
“I stay the same”
Netizens are divided over the controversy. Some point to behavior that is unworthy of a head of government, while others are happy when such a young and relaxed minister is having a bit of fun. For his part, TV presenter Aleksi Valavuori expressed his outrage on Twitter. “Some say she’s cool … maybe among other teenagers. But a leader of a country in crisis?” he underscored. And asking the Prime Minister to “take his leather jacket” and “resign”. Riikka Purra, leader of the far-right opposition party, asked Sanna Marin to take a drug test.
The young minister is not caught up in her first scandal since arriving at the head of government in December 2019. In late 2021, she was spotted in a nightclub being in contact with Covid-19. To apologize, she explained that she missed the text message telling her to isolate while awaiting a negative test. In recent weeks she has also chained concerts and festivals. For her part, Sanna Marin has no intention of sacrificing her youth on the altar of politics. “I intend to remain the same person I’ve always been and I hope people will agree with that. We live in a democracy and there are elections to settle this type of debate.
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