Prime Minister at the age of 34 is young. At that age, a person is still full of energy.
The same goes to Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland.
As the head of the Finnish government, serving under Finnish president Sauli Niinistö, Marin was found partying in a video shared on social media platforms.
In the video, it was revealed that the Prime Minister was singing and dancing with well-known local influencers and artists.
Marin, who spoke after the video went viral, showed her disappointment.
She said that the video was meant to be seen by only her friends, and that it shouldn't be publicized.
It is said that the video was originally posted to a private Instagram account.
Marin, who became the Finnish government leader in December 2019, said that she knew she was being filmed, but never thought the videos would be uploaded to the internet, let alone become publicly available.
According to her, she was was attending a private party in a private property.
"I spent a night with my friends. We just partied, also in a boisterous way. I danced and sang," she said.
" [...] these are private videos and they were not supposed to be public," the prime minister said, adding that "they are filmed this summer and in a private home. I am not telling whose home it is."
She denied claims that the video was made for a publicity stunt.
Just like about anything else that went viral before this, Marin received many supports and haters.
Those that support her, include the many Finnish people who said that Marin as a person, she has the right to have a normal private life, just like everyone else, regardless of her occupation.
And because she is the head of the cabinet, her high-profile career should not be interfered with her private life, and that her private life is hers, and should not be tied to her job.
As long as she can do her job right, she can do whatever she likes with her friends, which include partying.
"I have a family life, 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 said.
"I am going to be exactly the same person as I have been until now and I hope that it will be accepted," she added.
While many support her, others, especially her political opponents, started questioning her judgement.
After all, Marin, who has been dubbed "the coolest prime minister in the world," is also the youngest PM in Finland, and the third youngest country leader in the world. As a female who regularly appear at music festivals and parties, as well as visiting nightclubs since taking office, Marin can easily earn a bad reputation from oppositions.
"Marin may have acted in good faith, but this gullible she should not be," the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat wrote in an editorial.
"The prime minister can, in a sensitive situation, put the weapons of information warfare in the hands of those who would like to hurt Finland," the newspaper said.
The newspaper suggests the situation in Finland following Russia's invasion to Ukraine.
A month after Russia began invading Ukraine, Ukraine officially applied to join NATO, and this angered Russian President Vladimir Putin. After all, Finland is one of six members of the European Union that are not members of NATO. Finland has had formal relations with NATO since 1994.
With Putin's focus on Ukraine, the Finnish government is definitely on its alert.
Mikko Karna, an opposition who is a member of parliament (MP), tweeted that Marin should undergo a drug test.
Others claim that Marin's habit and public exposure simply show that she lack the professionalism of being a leader.
Marin who responded to questions, said that the video is actually a compilation of several videos, made from two different occasions.
She admitted that she drank alcohol, just like other people at parties, but none took drugs, according to her knowledge.
"We just partied," she said.
Back in January, the Prime Minister said that she and her fellow young female ministers have indeed been targeted with extensive hate speech for their gender and appearance while in office.
This isn't the first time the public criticized Marin.
That is because Marin is no stranger to controversies.
Previously, Marin created backlash after a photo of her in a nightclub in Helsinki was shared in 2021, following Finland's foreign minister testing positive for COVID-19.
She had publicly apologized for this.
"I did wrong. I should have considered the situation more carefully," Marin said in an interview at the time.
She said that she is an "individual, a person, a real person also, even though I'm a prime minister. So, I won't change the way I behave. Of course, I have to be careful what I say because it can be represented as the whole government, but I'm still a person and I will be in the future also."
She also made headlines when the Finnish media reported that Marin and her family were spending about €300 per month on groceries with public funds as a part of the Prime Minister's tax-free housing benefits in the official residence.
The legality of the customary arrangement that had been in place was questioned by the public, since the rules on the residential benefits didn't say anything about food provisions.
Before that, at the very beginning she took office, Marin also made controversies when she modelled for a woman's magazine.
At that time, the mother of one daughter was photographed for Trendi, wearing blazers and nothing underneath. She created backlash, and sparked a debate about sexism in the country.
This was not much of a surprise.
Since the photo was meant for a female magazine, the audience may see it as fabulous, whereas for men, her choice of clothes may seem all wrong. And the many people that considered it wrong, concluded that because Marin is a PM, and not just some ordinary citizen or model.
This was revealed by the magazine. Trendi said that it has photographed a lot of women wearing similar fashion, but none generated huge responses like this.
Mari Paalosalo-Jussinmäki, the director of A-lehdet magazine group, the publisher of Trendi, said that there was an "enormous" backlash against the photoshoot and cover story in Finland. She said the magazine received fierce criticism on social media soon after it was released on October 9.
"We've had that sort of photo before, obviously, in a woman's glossy fashion magazine: we have portrayed women in blazers with nothing underneath for years and years, with famous people, and they had never created any response like this," she said.
Those who supported her photoshoot, used the hashtag #ImWithSanna.
Later, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, expressed his support.
He said in Warsaw, that the Marin as Finland's PM had good reason to go out and celebrate, because her country is joining NATO.
"So if on this occasion the prime minister of Finland drank a little more Finlandia (vodka) and because of this danced, there is nothing terrible in that."
Poland has strongly supported Finland's membership of the alliance.
Because the controversy doesn't seem to end, Sanna Marin thinks that she had to deliver a speech to address the issue.
It was an emotional speech, where she tried to defend her right to have a private life.
"I am also human," a Finnish media quoted Marin as saying with a broken voice and red eyes.
The 36-year-old politician insisted she has always been committed to her job serving the people of Finland. Her job has always been a priority.
Marin also insisted that her partying, or whatever she does at her free time, does not interfere with her political work.
"I do my job. I learn from this," she said.
"This week has not been easy. It has been difficult. But I want to believe that people look at the work we do, not what we do in our free time."
Marin’s public apology came a day after she apologized over a topless photo of two influencers locking lips during a party Marin attended in Helsinki.