SCANDAL! Finland’s Prime Minister Young Woman Who Dances With Friends
No, she’s not coked up, either.
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin is young, vibrant, and boasts what Jerry Seinfeld once described as “qualities prized by the superficial man.” This puts her under excessive, undue scrutiny.
A video dropped last week that showed Marin, 36, at what looks like a house party. It’s been viewed more than a million times on Twitter and not just by me. Marin isn't killing men for sport or stealing their kidneys after drugging them. She's just singing and dancing with her friends. News aggregator Visegrád 24 called this “PartyGate,” but unlike breaking into the Watergate complex, dancing isn’t against the law. Finland has no crazy Footloose rules.
Here’s the footage. Parental discretion is not really advised.
"She has previously been criticized for attending too many music festivals & spending too much on partying instead of ruling," Visegrád 24 wrote alongside the video footage. "The critics say it's not fitting for a PM.”
Yes, some scolds think their prime minister “parties” too much, perhaps even “all the time.”
Unlike UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who ruined Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” with his lousy moves, Marin wasn’t violating her own nation’s COVID-19 protocols. She also possesses actual rhythm.
Critics argue that Marin should focus less on personal recreation and more on leading the nation during a cost-of-living crisis. Experts claim that the average Finn’s standard of living will drop because of rising prices and interest rates. But all Marin wants to do is dance!
This is, of course, sexist nonsense. Men are more likely to dismiss dancing as “frivolous” while normalizing golf as some critical business activity. Male politicians also attend sporting events where beer is served. We just can’t stand seeing women happy.
Finnish media was quick to run with the leaked video of a private event, even though most of the contrived controversy came from far-Right misogynist trolls. Absurdly, it was suggested that Marin and her friends were high on drugs because no alcohol bottles were visible. An anonymous acoustics “expert” heard someone say “flour,” which is not actually how Finnish drug users refer to drugs. Presumably, because it would it would make baking confusing.
“6. Note that this conveniently anonymous expert says that someone in the audio is talking about "flour", which the police, crime journalists and actual researchers say isn't used to refer to drugs in Finnish drug culture.”
— Janne M. Korhonen 🇫🇮🇪🇺🇺🇳🐟🇺🇦🇵🇸 (@Janne M. Korhonen 🇫🇮🇪🇺🇺🇳🐟🇺🇦🇵🇸) 1660905260
Nonetheless, nerds demanded that Martin take a drug test. C’mon, even I can tell from the footage that Marin wasn’t zonked out on coke. She didn’t even seem like she was on her third cocktail yet. On the spectrum of white lady dancing, this was fairly standard last hour of a wedding reception behavior.
However, Marin consented to take a drug test on Friday and she nailed the motherfucker. The tests results came back negative yesterday, which the Finnish government reported on its website. “Prime Minister, still clean” is some solid transparency. The United States should’ve demanded regular drug tests for Donald Trump. Now, that asshole was erratic. Marin was just having a good time. It’s also unclear if she took all the drug tests, Katie, or just a random selection.
Marin defended herself admirably, stating, “I have a family. I have a work life and I have free time to spend with my friends. Pretty much the same as many people my age.” She did apologize for a photo taken at her official residence that "showed two well-known female influencers kissing each other, covering their bare breasts with a ‘Finland’ sign.” America really needs to step up its “exceptionalism" game.
A member of the center-Left Social Democratic Party, Marin was selected as prime minister in December 2019 when she was 34. Her political career started at 20 when she joined the Social Democratic Youth. She was elected second deputy chairman of the SDP in 2014 and the following year, she was elected to the Finnish Parliament. She’s more than earned some down time.
Here she is in April discussing whether Finland should enter NATO. She seems to have the work/life balance down. And that leather jacket — god with a side of damn. I’d vote for that jacket if it moved to Oregon.
The NATO decision is key here, because Russia violated Finnish airspace last week. Finland will restrict Russian tourist visas effective September 1 after Russians used Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa airport as their main route to Europe in July. Finland also secured 23 out of 30 votes necessary for NATO membership. We all know how Vladimir Putin feels about NATO expanding its reach.
It might seem silly that so-called #PartyGate received more global attention, but it’s possible there’s a pretty direct connection. It wouldn’t surprise me if Russia wanted to politically ruin Marin, and Putin has a track record of meddling in elections to the world’s detriment.
Meanwhile, women across the globe have rallied behind Marin. They’re posting images of themselves busting a move with the hashtag #solidaritywithsanna. Women can dance if they want to, without leaving their old friends behind. (My music references throughout this post should clue you in on the last time I actually “partied.”)
[ Newsweek ]
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