'I am a real person, won't change the way I behave.' Finland PM Sanna Marin keeps it real after dancing video goes viral

Finland is the happiest nation in the world. When it comes to happiness, the key attributes that come to mind are prosperity, open culture, and most importantly a heightened sense of tolerance for anything that is beyond the normal.

In such an almost-idealistic state (of affairs!) no one would have thought that a video of Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin dancing at a private house party would generate headlines and become a point of contention in a land where freedom and openness are a part of its life!

Video clips of the Finnish PM partying with social media influencers and artists made waves on the Internet earlier this week. Soon, after they attracted media glare from not only Finland but also global media. Two particular videos - from the collection that has now gone viral - fuelled scathing criticism. While one video showed Marin singing and dancing with her friends, another showed her lounging in a VIP room of a popular Helsinki club. In her defence, Marin reportedly informed the media that she had attended the party in recent weeks without revealing when and where.


The videos of the 36-year-old letting her hair down triggered a debate among Finns on the level of revelling that merits the Prime Minister of the country. Following the video that went viral, Marin who heads the Social Democratic Party was subjected to a flurry of questions. Most questions were surrounding the presence of drugs at the party, if she was on a vacation. And if the PM was in control to handle a situation of emergency if the need arose.

The Aftermath
Amid heavy criticism, Prime Minister Marin on Friday stated that she had taken a drug test. She claimed that she had never used any illegal drugs. "I have today taken a drug test and the results will come within a week. Never in my life have I used drugs," she said in a news conference.

The Prime Minister asserted that her ability to perform her duties remained unimpaired during the time mentioned. She added that she would have left for work had there been any need. The Prime Minister underwent the test after politicians from the coalition government pressed for a drug test after the videos went viral.
According to The Guardian, the PM defended by saying that she did nothing but dance, sing, hug her friends and drink alcohol. “I hope that in the year 2022 it’s accepted that even decision-makers dance, sing and go to parties,” Marin was quoted as saying by the British news outlet.

A week after the Prime Minister underwent a drug test, she received a negative result clearing up suspicions of drug use. According to AFP, the Prime Minister's office informed that Marin's urine sample was tested to determine the presence of drugs such as amphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, and opioids.

"Drug test taken from Prime Minister Sanna Marin on 19 August 2022 did not reveal the presence of drugs," the PM's office said in a statement, adding that the results were signed by a doctor.

In Solidarity With The PM
While Marin drew flak from the media and Internet, there was also a section of the virtual world that stood in virtual solidarity with the young Prime Minister. Days after the video created headlines, several women took to their social media accounts and shared videos of them shaking a leg, their way of showing some sisterly support. Soon after, the hashtag #solidaritywithSanna began trending on social media.
Speculations On Relationships
After the videos went viral, Marin, married to Markus Raikkonen since August 2020, was linked with Finnish pop star Olavi Uusivirta. However, Uusivirta took to his Instagram account and put the rumours to rest. In his post, he said that he and the prime minister were just friends and that nothing inappropriate happened between them.