HELSINKI | Close to tears, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Wednesday defended her aspirations for “joy” and “life” following controversy over videos showing her dancing and partying.
• Also read: Finnish PM apologizes for controversial photo
• Also read: Finland: Prime Minister tests negative for drugs to ‘allay suspicions’
“I am human. Sometimes I also long for joy, light and pleasure in the midst of these dark clouds,” she said in a trembling voice at an event of her Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lahti, southern Finland.
“It’s private, it’s joy and it’s life,” she said, bleary-eyed. “But I haven’t missed a single day of work.”
The Prime Minister has been the target of controversy since last week after videos of her enjoying herself with friends and celebrities were leaked online.
Some criticized her for inappropriate behavior by a prime minister, others defended her right to enjoy a private event with her friends.
Comments accompanying the video were interpreted as referring to narcotics, a topic hotly debated on social media, which the Prime Minister refuted.
In order to “dispel any suspicion”, Sanna Marin underwent a drug test last week, which was negative.
“I would like to think that people will pay more attention to what we do at work than what we do in our free time,” she said on Wednesday, confident that the past week had been “quite difficult”.
Europe’s youngest prime minister made headlines again on Tuesday when she apologized for more photos taken at her residence in July.
The photo, released by Finnish media, showed two women embracing, lifting their tops to reveal their breasts and covering their chests with a “Finland” sign.
“I think the photo is inappropriate, I apologize. This photo should not have been taken,” Ms. Marin told reporters.
The Prime Minister had explained that “friends” were staying at her residence at the time to “spend the evening there” and go to the sauna.
The photo was first posted on a TikTok account by an influencer and former Miss Finland pageant contestant, who herself is in the photo.