Finnish PM denies drug taking after footage of 36-year-old dancing at 'wild' party emerges

18 August 2022, 19:02

Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin has insisted she did not take any drugs after footage emerged of her "wild" party.

The 36-year-old, one of the youngest leaders in the world who has taken a tough stance on Russia, is seen dancing with friends, including taking to her knees and singing along to a song.

She is no stranger to partying, having had to apologise last December for going clubbing until 4am with her work phone, leaving her unable to get pinged by a Covid app. She later tested negative.

But she has faced criticism for partying now while her country grapples with high electricity prices and tensions with Russia – a country it shares an 832-mile border with and has shared a tumultuous history – and now has had to deny any drug taking in the wake of the video's emergence.

"I'm disappointed that it has become public. I spent the evening with friends. Partied, pretty wild, yes. Danced and sang," she told Finnish broadcaster YLE.

"I have not used drugs myself, or anything other than alcohol. I've danced, sung and partied and done perfectly legal things," the Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper reported her as saying.

"I have also not been in a situation where I would know that others are doing it that way."

Among those seen in the footage were Alma, a Finnish singer whose songs have charted in the UK.

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Ms Marin, a member of the Social Democratic Party, is Finland's youngest prime minister. She said she spends her time away from work with friends, like other people in their mid-30s, and intends to be the same person she was before taking the job.

"I hope that's accepted. We live in a democracy and in elections everyone can decide these issues," she said.

Her grip on the premiership will be keenly watched because of Finland's recent geopolitical shift with regards to Russia.

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The country has abandoned its long-held position of neutrality and instead intends to join Nato.

It is a massive setback for Russia's Vladimir Putin, who not only has become bogged down in a protracted conflict in Ukraine but his actions have pushed another neighbouring state and Sweden to drop their neutral stances and begin talks to enter the defensive alliance.