In defence of Sanna Marin, Finland’s partying PM

Party politics is done somewhat differently in Finland. While Boris was hounded out in Westminster for some miserable looking cake and wine, over in Helsinki, his counterpart finds herself in hot water for simply having too much (legal) fun. Sanna Marin, the country’s 36-year-old Prime Minister, is now facing criticism after a video of her partying with friends was leaked online. It features the Social Democrat leader throwing shapes to music and all seems a fairly innocuous affair.

Not so for her critics. Talk show host Aleksi Valavuori led the charge, sneering at the suggestion that she is ‘a responsible leader for a country in crisis’. He dubbed her ‘the most incompetent PM we ever had’ and suggested she should ‘take your leather jacket and resign.’ It’s not the first time too that Marin has been criticised for being a party animal. She’s previously faced jibes over her love of festivals and last December made headlines worldwide after she forgot to take her prime ministerial phone out when she went partying in the pandemic.