PARTY PM
Finnish ‘party’ PM Sanna Marin reveals result of drug test after twerking and grinding vids go viral
THE FINNISH prime minister has revealed the results of her drugs test after videos of her twerking and grinding on a night out went viral.
Sanna Marin, 36, was forced to deny she had taken drugs after the leaked videos led to calls from fellow Finnish MPs for her to be tested.
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Marin, known as the "party" PM for her more relaxed approach to government, took the test on Friday, paying for it herself, according to a government press release.
In a press conference last week, Marin said she had been drinking lightly on the night in question but had not taken drugs and was always in an appropriate condition to "lead the country".
On Monday, Marin's office announced that the PM had tested negative for drugs.
The drug test statement was signed by an occupational health doctor Paavo Halonen from Terveystalo, a private health company in Finland, the office said.
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It follows a huffy response from her critics after Marin was filmed twerking at a wild party with a group of pals.
The video posted on social media shows Marin with Finnish singer Alma, rapper Petri Nygard as well as TV host Tinni Wikstrom, influencers and members of her own Social Democratic party.
The clip was then published online by the Finnish tabloid newspaper, , and shows Marin dancing, singing and drinking with pals in what appears to be an apartment.
At one stage someone off-camera refers to "powder gang", seen as alluding to cocaine, although Marin strenuously denied seeing any drugs at the bash.
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Other social media users have said the party-goer was more likely referring to a popular Finnish alcoholic drink which sounds similar in Finnish to "powder gang".
Speaking to reporters last week, Marin denied using drugs at the bash and said she had "nothing to conceal or hide".
She announced she had taken a drug test after clips emerged of her dancing "intimately" with a male friend at a club.
The pal, popular Finnish pop star Olavi Uusivirta, insisted nothing had happened between himself and the married PM.
Marin also denied the claims of one reporter that the pop star had kissed her on the neck.
She said instead that the pal was talking to her and may have just kissed her on the cheek.
"I did nothing illegal," Marin told reporters in the Finnish capital Helsinki, the scene of the wild night out on August 6.
"Even in my teenage years, I have not used any kind of drugs."
I did nothing illegal
Sanna Marin
Marin's supporters have come out to defend the politician, dubbed the "coolest prime minister in the world" last week by German news site Bild.
One of the world's youngest leaders, Marin has made no secret of her love of going out with friends and has often been pictured at music festivals.
"I don't remember a single time that there was a sudden situation in the middle of the night to go to the State Council Palace," she said. "I think my ability to function was really good.
"There were no known meetings on the days I was partying."
And she also expressed her disappointment at the sharing of private videos online.
"I trust that people understand that leisure time and work time can be separated."
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The politician, who was voted in as prime minister in 2019 at the age of 34, added: "I hope that in the year 2022 it's accepted that even decision-makers dance, sing and go to parties."
Some have even claimed that the leaking of the videos was part of a mission by Russia to discredit the PM, who has tried to get her country - which shares a land border with Russia - into NATO, to the fury of Vladimir Putin.
Finnish cybersecurity expert Petteri Jarvinen, quoted in the newspaper Iltalehti at the weekend, warned that Russia may have hacked the phone or social media accounts of someone close to the prime minister.
Women in Finland have also called out the supposed double standards faced by Marin as a young woman and mother in politics.
Hundreds have posted clips online of themselves dancing and partying in support of the PM with the hashtag "Solidarity with Sanna".
But gender studies professor Anu Koivunen at the University of Turku in Finland said she didn't believe gender was the major issue with the leaked video.
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Instead, she said, the fact the video was leaked could be seen as a judgement lapse by the prime minister.
"That she didn't restrain herself in company where she cannot trust everyone in the room," she said. "I think that's the main issue at the moment."
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