Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who is the youngest prime minister in the world, on Thursday said that she was upset that videos of her dancing at private parties were uploaded on social media platforms as they were meant to only be seen by friends.
The 36-year-old world leader spoke after a two-minute video of her singing and dancing with well-known local influencers and artists spread on social media and in Finnish media on Wednesday.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin
The video clips were originally posted to a private Instagram account and Marin, who became the world's youngest serving government leader in December 2019, said she knew she was being filmed but never thought that the videos would become publicly available.
In a statement, Marin said, "These videos are private and filmed in a private space. I resent that these became known to the public." Furthermore, the Finnish prime minister noted that she had no idea who leaked the videos.
Many residents have voiced out their support for the official for combining a private life with her high-profile career. However, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat said that the episode raised questions about Marin's judgment, as per Reuters.
The paper wrote that while the Finnish prime minister may have acted in good faith, she should not have been "gullible." It added that Marin can, in a sensitive situation, put the weapons of information warfare in the hands of those who would like to hurt Finland.
On the other hand, the prime minister said that the video was a compilation of clips from two separate occasions a few weeks ago. She noted that the people at the events consumed alcohol but no one took drugs to her knowledge.
According to CNN, Marin noted that she simply spent a night with her friends and partied in a "boisterous way." The video clips showed the prime minister and five others posing toward a camera and dancing while another showed Marin on the floor, singing toward the camera.
Boisterous Private Party
The leak of the parties prompted some of Marin's political opponents to criticize her behavior as unbecoming of a prime minister. An opposition MP, Mikko Karna, posted on Twitter that Marin should undergo a drug test.
However, Marin's supporters have charged critics with applying a double standard to the world's youngest prime minister. A professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Sweden's Uppsala University, Ashok Swain, tweeted, "Why can't she party after work? Do we expect our leaders not to be human beings?"
Marin has also denied that the leak of the videos was part of a blackmailing scheme, reassuring the public that no one was threatening her. The incident is not the first time the Finnish prime minister's private life was politicized. In 2021, a photo surfaced that showed her in a nightclub following Finland's foreign minister testing positive for COVID-19.
Marin defended her actions during the boisterous private party by saying that she has a family life, a work life, and has free time to spend with her friends. She said, "I am going to be exactly the same person as I have been until now and I hope that it will be accepted," Fox News reported.
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