Hundreds of women in Finland have been posting videos of themselves dancing to support prime minister Sanna Marin who became embroiled in a scandal when two videos emerged of her partying.
The women, including those in neighbouring Denmark, have been sharing clips of themselves dancing with their friends to back the world’s youngest head of state as she faced criticism over a leaked video of her partying.
The videos have been accompanied by the hashtag #SolidaritywithSanna.
Ms Marin, 36, has come under fire since two videos emerged of her singing and dancing at a party with friends and enjoying herself in a private VIP room of a nightclub in Helsinki.
Some people have criticised the clips, saying they raise questions over the politician’s personal and political judgement.
Critics also say her partying is irresponsible at a time when tensions with Russia are intensifying due to her efforts to have Finland join NATO during Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
The prime minister has since dismissed claims of drug-taking at the party and said she had taken a drug test which would be made public when the results were available.
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Defending her actions, Ms Marin, who took oath in 2019 at the age of 34, said she did nothing but “dance, sing, hug my friends and drink alcohol”.
She added: “I hope that in the year 2022 it’s accepted that even decision-makers dance, sing and go to parties.”
She also said in the statement that she “resents these became known to the public” and claimed they were filmed in a private space.
The first leaked video, which appears to be 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 male popstar Olavi Uusivirta at the Helsinki nightspot.
Ms Marin, who has been married to her husband Markus Raikkonen since 2020, also denied an allegation that Mr Uusivirta was kissing her neck in the clip.
While there was no evidence of drug-taking in the clips, some media outlets claimed the phrase “jauhojengi”, meaning “powder gang”, could be heard in one of the clips – alluding to the use of cocaine.
In response to the backlash, hoards of women posted videos of themselves dancing and drinking in a show of support.
On Saturday, cybersecurity expert Petteri Järvinen suggested Russia may have hacked the phone or social accounts of someone who was part of Ms Marin’s close circle, according to the newspaper Iltalehti.
