Sanna
Marin, Finland’s youngest prime minister, who took over the hotseat at the age
of 34, is in the middle of a controversy after images of her partying went
viral on social media. The Finnish PM was seen partying, dancing exuberantly
with friends, Finnish newspaper Iltaheti reported. The report further claimed
that the PM was seen partying with Ilmari Nurminen, 31, member of the Finnish
Parliament and media anchor Tinni Wikström.

In the
footage that came to light, the Finnish prime minister is seen dancing with her
friends with people in the background shouting about cocaine, POLITICO reported
citing Finnish media reports. The videos are spread through a string of
Instagram stories.

Mikko
Karna, another member of the Finnish Parliament and a coalition partner of
Sanna Marin’s party, urged the prime minister to take a drug test and release
the results publicly. “The people are also allowed to expect this from their
prime minister,” Karna tweeted.

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Sanna Marin
called a press conference Thursday morning wherein she said, “I have danced,
celebrated and done legal things.” She denied using drugs or drinking heavily.

Further,
Marin hit out at the person who leaked the footage and said, “I trusted that
since the videos are private and published at a private event, they would not
be published. It feels bad that they have been published.”

Videos of
Marin partying has social media divided. Critics have lambasted Marin for what
they call irresponsible behaviour while others see a potential popularity boost
for the Finnish PM.

PM at age 34,
Sanna Marin has faced criticism over her lifestyle. In December 2021, Marin
came under fire after a night out after a government colleague tested positive
for coronavirus. At the time, Marin apologised saying, “I should have used
better judgement and also checked the instructions I received. I am sorry I did
not understand this.”

In October
2020, Sanna Marin was trolled for posing for pictures with a local fashion
magazine wearing a black blazer with a plunging neckline with no shirt
underneath. She was trolled by many who said her dress was not suited to the
position she occupied while there were others who came out in her support and
called her critics sexist. Many even posted similarly-dressed pictures of
themselves on social media.