Barely a week after a high-profile partying scandal that led to drug accusations, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has again found herself in hot water, having to apologize for “inappropriate” photos and videos taken by her friends at her official residence.
The latest picture shows two women kissing: they have their shirts pulled up and are flashing their bellies. A sign with the text “Finland” hides one of the women's breasts. The government's official blue background screen is clearly visible in the background.
Tweet: "I have sung and danced", a reference to Sanna Marin's own comments.
The picture was first published on a TikTok account by a former Miss Finland contestant and social media influencer, who appears in the photo. The content has since been widely shared on Finnish social media. Although Marin herself doesn't appear in the images, she confirmed that they were taken at a party at her Kesäranta residence after the Ruisrock music festival in early July.
Marin explained that she had invited some friends over to Kesäranta after the festival to “sauna, swim and spend time together”.
“In my opinion that photo is not appropriate: I apologize for that, that photo shouldn't have been taken”, Marin said, as quoted by the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.
Marin suggested that the photo in question was taken in the downstairs guest bathroom at Kesäranta.
She also assured the public that the event was strictly private, emphasizing that Finnish national security hadn't been compromised as a result of her social activities. She stressed that security arrangements “were in place at all times”.
Last week, several videos of the Finnish PM partying sparked a serious backlash. In the videos, the 36-year-old Marin, formerly lauded as Finland's youngest prime minister, is pictured dancing and singing at what were respectively described as a “house party” and a nightclub. Because a comment, interpreted as “flour-gang”, was heard in one of the videos, accusations of drug abuse started to be leveled against Marin. However, the PM insisted she had done “nothing illegal” and even took a drug test which came out clean. At the same time, she admitted to partying “boisterously” and consuming alcohol.
Nevertheless, opponents and critics lashed out against the prime minister for inappropriate behavior, with some Finnish media labeling her the “Party PM”. Deputy Prime Minister Annika Saarikko suggested that many Finns coping with a cost of living crisis might resent Marin's partying lifestyle.
A plethora of media organizations around the world have since come out in favor of Marin. Hundreds of women also joined in support of Marin, posting videos of themselves dancing and partying.
Earlier, Marin came under fire for partying after a contact in the government contracted COVID. Then, she apologized for “irresponsible” behavior.