Women, including those in neighboring Denmark, have been sharing videos of their friends dancing in support of the world’s youngest head of state as she faced criticism over a leaked video of her party. The videos are accompanied by the hashtag #SolidaritywithSanna. Marin, 36, has come under fire since two videos surfaced of her singing and dancing at a party with friends and enjoying herself in a private VIP room of a Helsinki nightclub. Some people criticized the clips, saying they raised questions about the politician’s personal and political judgment. Critics also say her party is irresponsible at a time when tensions with Russia are rising over her efforts to get Finland to join NATO during Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war with Ukraine. The prime minister has since dismissed allegations of drug taking at the party and said she took a drug test, which will be released when the results are available. Defending her actions, Ms Marin, who was sworn in in 2019 aged 34, said she did nothing but “dance, sing, hug my friends and drink alcohol”. He added: “I hope that in 2022 it will be accepted that even those who make decisions dance, sing and go to parties.” He also said in the statement that he was “outraged that they were made public” and claimed that they were filmed in private. The first leaked video, which appears to have come from Instagram Stories, sees Ms Marin drinking with several friends as they sing and dance to songs by Finnish rapper Petri Nygard and pop star Antti Tuisku. A second clip was soon leaked showing Ms Marin dancing with her pop star husband Olavi Uusivirta at the Helsinki nightspot. Ms Marin, who has been married to husband Markus Raikkonen since 2020, also denied the claim that Mr Uusivirta was kissing her neck in the clip. Image: Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin Although there was no evidence of drug use in the clips, some media outlets claimed that the phrase “jauhojengi”, meaning “powder gang”, was heard in one of the videos – referring to the use of cocaine. In response to the backlash, scores of women posted videos of themselves dancing and drinking in support. On Saturday, cybersecurity expert Petteri Järvinen said Russia may have hacked the phone or social media accounts of someone who was a member of Ms. Marin’s inner circle, according to Iltalehti newspaper.
