Sanna Marin: Women in Finland post videos of themselves partying to stand in solidarity with PM

But prime minister’s critics say her partying is irresponsible at a time when tensions with Russia have intensified

Women in Finland are posting videos of themselves partying to support prime minister Sanna Marin who became embroiled in a “partygate” scandal this week.

Finnish women, as well as those in neighbouring Denmark, have been sharing videos of themselves dancing and having a good time with their friends to express their support for the world’s youngest head of state, amid leaked videos of the politician partying. The videos are accompanied with the hashtag #SolidaritywithSanna.

BBC journalist Megha Mohan on Saturday evening tweeted a montage video of Danish women dancing in support of Ms Marin, also noting that “there are many others though individually from Finland”.

The support for Ms Marin, who took oath in 2019 when she was just 34, comes after she faced intense backlash and scrutiny over two videos of her partying were leaked to the press.

The first video, which appears to be from Instagram Stories, shows Ms Marin drinking with a group of friends, singing and dancing to songs by Finnish rapper Petri Nygård and pop singer Antti Tuisku. It was released on 17 August.

Soon after, a second video was leaked, in which Ms Marin could be seen dancing with a male popstar at a nightclub in Helsinki.

The man has been identified as Finnish singer-songwriter Olavi Uusivirta.

On Friday, Ms Marin announced that she had taken a drug test “to clear her reputation” after her political oponents alleged that she was socialising with people who used illegal substances.

There was no evidence of illicit drug-taking in the video, but some media outlets claimed the phrase jauhojengi – meaning “powder gang”, interpreted as alluding to cocaine – could be heard in one of the leaked clips, Finland’s public broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (YLE) reported.

Ms Marin, who has been married to her partner of 18 years since 2020, has also denied the allegation Mr Uusivirta was kissing her neck in the video from the Helsinki club.

In a statement addressing criticism of the videos, Ms Marin said she “resents these became known to the public”, adding that they were filmed in a private space.

Despite the support from women in Finland and Denmark, however, Ms Marin’s critics said her partying is irresponsible at a time when tensions with Russia have intensified over her efforts to have Finland join Nato during Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

This is not the first time that the prime minister has faced backlash for partying.

Ms Marin, 36, came under fire last year for partying at a nightclub despite knowing she had come in contact with foreign minister Pekka Haavisto who had contracted Covid-19 in December.