Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, believed she had settled the controversy over her racy parties after undergoing a negative drug test and publicly apologizing. But the appearance of a new video on TikTok, where two partygoers can be seen kissing in the official residence of the prime minister, could be the new straw that breaks the camel’s back of the scandal.
In the video, two women are seen kissing and lifting their blouses, leaving their exposed breasts but covered with a sign with the word “Finland”. The video, now deleted, was apparently recorded in the conference room, the same one that the prime minister uses for official events and video conferences with other heads of government. This last video was recorded at her official residence last July. “I think the images are inappropriate”, she has recognized this time, “I apologize”. “These images should not have been taken,” he told reporters. Marin has explained that, at that time, some »friends« were at her residence to »spend an afternoon together and go to the sauna». Initially, the photograph was published on the social network TikTok, by an influencer and former candidate for the title of Miss Finland, who is one of the two women in the image.
On the verge of tears, Marin has appeared before the press again, this time insisting on his right to “joy” and “life”. “I’m a human being. Sometimes also I aspire to joy, light and pleasure in the midst of these dark clouds”, he declared with a trembling voice during an event organized by the political formation he leads, the Social Democratic Party, in Lahti, in southern Finland. “This is something private, it is joy and life,” he said with misty eyes. “But I have not missed a single day of work,” he replied to those who consider the series of parties with alcohol that he has starred in times when he was not on vacation to be incompatible.
Last week leaked first videos of the prime minister, in which she appears having fun with friends and celebrities and which started the controversy. Since then, he has received numerous criticisms for having behaved inappropriately and incompatible with the position he holds, especially for appearing in sensual poses and starring in a scene that suggests intimacy with the popular singer Olavi Uusivirta, 39, who for his part has declared that “we are just friends” and ensures that “we have not done anything inappropriate”. At the party held in an apartment, which was later held in two well-known nightclubs, other celebrities also participated, such as the deputy Ilmari Nurminen, from the Social Democratic Party, the presenters Tinni Wikstrom and Karolina Tuominen, or the influencer Janita Autio.
Rumors have spread on social networks about a possible drug use, something that Marin has categorically rejected. “I want to believe that people look at what we do while we work instead of what we do in our free time,” he tried to defend himself in this last appearance, in which he admitted that last week was “quite difficult.”
At the same press conference, President Niinistö was also asked if he thought the National security she had been compromised on the night in question. “I don’t think anything special happened that night,” was her response. The influential Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat has heavily criticized Marin in an editorial that also took aim at Niinistös for appearing to have ‘lost control’ over Marin.
After this last video, the campaigns and message networks of Scandinavian users who last week showed their solidarity with marinpublishing videos and photos where they can be seen dancing and partying, under the motto: «Never miss the opportunity to dance».
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism