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Home / World

Finland PM Sanna Marin faces scrutiny for dancing intimately with star

news.com.au
19 Aug, 2022 07:15 PM4 mins to read

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Finland's PM Sanna Marin was filmed dancing at a Helsinki nightclub. Photo / Supplied

Finland's PM Sanna Marin was filmed dancing at a Helsinki nightclub. Photo / Supplied

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin is facing fresh scrutiny after being filmed dancing closely with a man in a nightclub.

The 36-year-old was seen in Klubi nightclub in Helsinki at around 4am on August 7, with her arms around a man named locally as Finnish singer Olavi Uusivirta.

In the latest video, the young world leader can be seen swaying with Uusivirta as he places his hands on his lower back and moves his face close to the prime minister's neck.

It's the second embarrassing clip to emerge of Marin in recent days, after a previous clip of her partying hard led to calls for her to take a drug test.

A new video of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s “party scandal” appeared in Finland today.

Seiska writes that Marin, who is married and has been in that relationship for 18 years, was seen in many questionable situations.

Iltalehti has a sound expert confirming “flour-gang”. pic.twitter.com/Nj5A71R8Rd

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 19, 2022
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Someone in the first video is heard shouting "flour gang", with "flour" a nickname for cocaine in Finland.

Marin has denied using drugs and has now taken a drug test, with the results expected in the coming days.

One witness at Klubi claimed Marin, who has been married to husband Markus Raikkonen since August 2020, was seen dancing with three men.

Marin is said to have left the club at 4.30am and sounded somewhat hoarse during interviews the next day.

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The PM has voiced her disappointment at people who leaked the clips of her letting her hair down, and said she should be able to relax like anyone else.

But her critics say her job is too important to be spending time partying, particularly when Finland is at loggerheads with its neighbour Russia over its bid to join Nato.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin holds a press conference in Helsinki, Finland. Photo / AP
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin holds a press conference in Helsinki, Finland. Photo / AP

Marin gave an interview on Friday in which she revealed she has taken a drug test to prove her critics wrong.

"I did nothing illegal", she said. "Even in my teenage years I have not used any kind of drugs."

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Reporters asked her if she would have been able to make a snap decision, if something had come up while she was at the club.

"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 shot back.

"I think my ability to function was really good. There were no known meetings on the days I was partying.

"I trust that people understand that leisure time and work time can be separated."

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin arrives for an EU summit in Brussels. Photo / AP
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin arrives for an EU summit in Brussels. Photo / AP

Last year Marin was forced to apologise for going out clubbing until 4am after coming into contact with a Covid case.

The PM went out to dinner and drinks just hours after her Foreign Minister had tested positive, having initially been told she did not need to isolate as she had been fully vaccinated – but later missing a text that advised her to do so.

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"I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that," she said in a statement on Facebook at the time.

She explained she had missed the text message which was sent to her government phone, not the personal phone she had on her.

Critics of the PM said she should have had her government phone on her at all times for national security reasons in case of an emergency.

But the Millennial leader has also earned many fans.

German newspaper Bild this week described Marin as the world's "coolest politician".

"She is the most important politician in her country, has to lead it through one of the most dangerous crises of her time because of the warlike activity of her neighbour Russia – and still finds time to celebrate," the paper wrote.

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"Casual, modern and self-confident – that's how politics can work. Marin stands for the 'cool generation', which Putin definitely doesn't like."

Marin has been an outspoken voice against Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

She had led the charge, along with Sweden's leader Magdalena Andersson, for their two historically neutral nations to join Nato.

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