Sanna Marin has insisted she works hard as Finland’s prime minister but should also be entitled to a private life, after a photograph taken at her residence of two topless women kissing sparked renewed criticism of her partying.
“I am human,” Marin told reporters on Wednesday at the conference of her Social Democratic party, describing the past week as “quite difficult”. On the verge of tears, she said she too sometimes longs “for joy, light and fun amidst the dark clouds”.
The 36-year-old, the world’s youngest head of government when she was elected in 2019, added: “I haven’t missed a single day of work. I want to believe people will look at what we do at work rather than what we do in our spare time.”
She said she had not left “a single task undone – and I won’t leave this one in the middle either. I’m learning. But I am doing my job as well as I have been up to now. I’m thinking about Ukraine, I’m thinking about you, and I’m doing my job.”
On Tuesday, Marin apologised for the photograph, which first appeared on the TikTok account of the model and influencer Sabina Särkkä. It shows her and another woman – not Marin – kissing and lifting up their tops, with a “Finland” sign over their breasts.
“I think the picture is not appropriate, I apologise for it. Such a picture should not have been taken,” Marin said. But otherwise “nothing extraordinary happened” at the party in her residence, Kesäranta, after the Ruisrock music festival on 8 July, she said.
The apology came after Marin made headlines around the world last week when video emerged of her drinking and dancing exuberantly during another private party at which unsubstantiated reports claimed drugs may have been consumed.
While she told reporters she had never personally taken drugs and had not seen any being used at the party in a Helsinki flat on 6 August, the prime minister took a drugs test “to clear up suspicions”. The result, released on Monday, was negative.
Finnish media reported claims – amplified chiefly by far-right and anti-government accounts – that a voice on the video could be heard shouting “the flour gang”, a supposed reference to drugs, but it is not clear the term was used or what it means.
Asked whether she would change anything in her behaviour, Marin said that she did not personally see anything wrong with “we politicians also having free time, spending it with our friends”. She said it was up to voters in elections to “assess whether it is suitable from their point of view, and what they think about it”.
Opponents have described Marin’s behaviour as inappropriate and said her choice of friends showed a lack of judgment, while leaked photos and videos could expose her to criticism or even blackmail. But many others have defended her right to party.
Finnish women have posted videos of themselves dancing and drinking to show their support for the prime minister, while Marin herself said she hoped that “in the year 2022, it is accepted that even decision-makers get to dance, sing and go to parties”.
She also said, however, that she was “sure” other material existed. “I feel like footage is being shot of me all the time, everywhere, and it doesn’t feel good,” she told reporters last week. “Even normal things are made to look bad.”
The political impact for Marin, who has won praise for her handling of the Covid pandemic and for leading Finland out of decades of neutrality and non-alignment to apply for Nato membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has so far been limited.
But some allies are wearying of the furore. Finland’s finance minister, Annika Saarikko, leader of the Centre party which is a member of Marin’s centre-left coalition, said she was “confused and tired” of having to comment on the photos and videos.
The education minister, Li Andersson, from the Left Alliance said she hoped discussion would move on to “substantive issues” such as “our tasks with regard to this coming difficult winter, the energy crisis, Russia’s war of aggression, fair policies”.
Petteri Orpo, of the opposition National Coalition party, said he hoped media and public attention could now focus on “what the prime minister is not doing. We have an energy crisis, galloping inflation, problems in healthcare. We need leadership.”
Within Marin’s Social Democrats, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper – which spoke to eight party MPs – warned that while she remained highly popular and there was no pressure to remove her, frustration was growing over the repeated scandals.
Several MPs the paper spoke to had criticised Marin’s judgment and considered her actions “imprudent”, it said, adding that concern was mounting about further photos or videos emerging and whether Marin had learned from the experience.
“Everyone sees her as very capable of doing her job,” one MP said. “She has incredible stamina, parties wildly and also takes care of her work. But there are good reasons to worry about her priorities.
“In a situation where elections are approaching, it is extremely important to talk to our older supporters as well. Finland is still a relatively conservative country, especially outside the capital region.”
