Roni Rekomaa/AP
The Prime Minister of Finland, here on August 19, 2022, is under fire from critics after a video of her partying but also for a photo taken in her official residence.
FINLAND – A new controversy affects the Finnish Prime Minister. Already under fire from critics after the broadcast of a video showing her partying and which sparked an avalanche of criticism, Sanna Marin apologized on Tuesday August 23 for a photography controversial taken in his residence.
The photo released by Finnish media shows two women embracing, taking off their tops to bare their busts and covering their chests with a “Finland” sign. Sanna Marin, 36, confirmed on Tuesday that the photo was taken at her official residence in Kesaranta, after she attended a music Festival which took place from July 8 to 10.
“I think the photo is inappropriate, I apologize. This photo should not have been taken”, Sanna Marin told reporters in Helsinki. The Prime Minister explained that at that time, “friends” were in his residence to ” spend the evening “ and “go to the sauna”.
Sanna Marin already in turmoil for partying
The photograph was first posted on a TikTok account by an influencer and former contestant for the Miss Finland pageant, who appears in the photo herself. The snapshot is from a video that has been deleted.
In an editorial published on Tuesday, the most important Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat considered that Sanna Marin seemed not to “see control of a situation where different materials may still be held by various parties”.
Sanna Marin made headlines last week when a video leaked that showed her dancing and partying with friends and celebrities.
Some had interpreted comments heard in the video as referring to narcotics, which had been the subject of heated debates on the social networks and brought the Prime Minister to do a drug test on Friday for “dispel all suspicion”.
A negative drug test
The test came back negativeSanna Marin’s cabinet said on Monday. “Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s drug test dated August 19, 2022 did not reveal the presence of drugs”Ms. Marin’s office said in a statement, adding that the results had been signed by a doctor.
Her way of dancing was judged by some as unsuitable for a Prime Minister while others defended her right to have fun with friends in a private setting. Finnish women have also launched a movement of support for the head of government, by filming themselves dancing.
So far Sanna Marin has enjoyed the support of her party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Antti Lindtman, leader of the SDP group in parliament, told a conference that the prime minister had his group’s support. “I don’t see a big problem with her dancing with friends at a private event”he said.
Sanna Marin, the world’s youngest head of government when she assumed the post in 2019, has already come under fire for parties at her official residence. In December 2021, Sanna Marin had been criticized for having danced until dawn when she was in contact for the Covid-19.
See also also on The Huffpost: They dance in support of Sanna Marin, the Finnish Prime Minister at the heart of a controversy