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Women from around the world have shared videos of themselves dancing on social media in a gesture of support for Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
One collection of clips showing different staff from a Danish womens’ magazine has attracted thousands of likes on Twitter, while another hilarious video praises the dance moves of Ms Marin, 36, while comparing them with the dancefloor antics of British prime minister Boris Johnson.
Ms Marin made headlines in recent days after footage of her partying and dancing enthusiastically on a night out was leaked online.
The videos which were taken as she danced with friends in two private apartments and then at a nightclub in Helsinki have led to her being criticised and she was forced to address concerns that someone in one of the clips was heard shouting the words ‘flour gang’ in an apparent reference to a Finnish slang word for cocaine.
She insisted at a press conference outside her official residence in Helsinki that she had never taken drugs, had not seen any taken on the night the videos were filmed and had since taken a drugs test to clear her name.
Ms Marin also denied doing anything ‘inappropriate’ after another view emerged of her dancing closely with Finnish pop star Olavi Uusivirta, 28, at 4am in the Klubi nightclub in Helsinki.
She also insisted that she had not drunk alcohol to excess and had not woken up with a hangover, explaining she has the same right to a night off as everyone else and ‘everyone needs a fun and relaxed evening out’.
Now other women from Finland and over the world have shared their support for Ms Marin by filming themselves dancing wildly, either by themselves or with friends.
A clip shared by the Danish magazine Alt on Instagram showed several women celebrating, with some clubbing or at home to show they stand with the Finnish PM.
Women from around the world have shared videos of themselves dancing on social media in support of Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin after leaked videos showed her dancing at a party
The glamourous Finnish PM (pictured), 36, has denied using drugs and said she has nothing to hide after a video emerged of her partying wildly with celebrity friends
One woman even showed her body-bending skills while pole dancing in the video.
The magazine said they had ‘leaked’ their own dancing videos online, in reference to the video of the prime minister, which was leaked last week.
‘SYMPATHY LEAK! In solidarity with Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin (whose party video has been leaked, so that certain types are now questioning what one can allow themselves to do as Prime Minister),’ the post’s caption read.
‘We at ALT for the ladies’ editorial office have emptied the camera roll of clips that should never have seen the light of day.
‘And no, you don’t become a worse prime minister, director, school teacher…put in a job yourself…by firing it up on the dance floor at the weekend,’ it went on.
Others have been posting messages of support with the hashtags #solidaritywithsanna and #istandwithsanna.
One woman posted a video of herself dancing with the message ‘Solidarity with Sanna. Happens to all of us. Very secret, stupid, drunk video of me and my friends!!! Leaked it myself.’
A woman could be seen dancing on a boat in front of several empty bottles of wine in a video shared by the Danish magazine Alt
One dancer enthusiastically waved her legs in the air in the clip, while another was filmed dancing at home
Another said: ‘I wonder: What is the problem that Sanna goes out dancing and at the same time occupies a place of power? Does she bother them that much?’
A third added: ‘I say ALL women across the world need to post videos of themselves dancing and partying with friends!! Let’s blow up the internet women!!
‘Let’s show those with a “crotchety old men mentality” that they can stick it where the sun don’t shine!!!’
The twitter account Very Finnish Problems which has 97,000 followers posted one of the videos of Ms Marin dancing along with a viral clip of Boris Johnson dancing clumsily with a woman holding a light sabre which is believed to have been taken in 2018.
A caption for the clips announced it as a ‘Prime Minister dance off’ with national flags, showing that it was Finland against the UK and was accompanied by a tweet, saying: ‘No surprises for guessing who gets my vote.’
It was suggested yesterday that Ms Marin may have known about the existence of the videos of her dancing before they were leaked from a friend’s private Instagram account.
One woman in Montreal shared a video of herself dancing saying ‘dancing is healing, keep dancing Sanna Marin’
Finish media has reported that the account belongs to Helsinki-based photographer Janita Autio who is known to be a friend of Ms Marin. Ms Autio has refused to directly confirm that the private account belonged to her.
But she has posted a message on her public account, saying: ‘I’m really shocked at the commotion we’ve gotten ourselves into.
‘It was a harmless evening where people danced and had fun, one of the funniest evenings of the summer, which has taken on unreasonable proportions in the aftertaste.
‘I’ve never used drugs. Accusations like that feel really bad, unfair and wrong. In the worse case such a false label follows and affects (you) for a long time.
‘The videos have been filmed in private spaces and all parties have been aware of the filing of the videos and their publication on a private account.
‘In my opinion the videos do not contain anything that would justify by-passing copyright ad violating privacy protection. I have not shared them with the media.
‘I will not comment further on this matter. I hope that people can continue to enjoy life, summer, dancing and the company of friends.’
Finland’s glamorous Prime Minister Sanna Marin has been seen dancing wildly with a group of celebrity friends after a video was leaked online
The release of the raucous video comes just months after Marin was forced to apologise for going out clubbing till 4am after coming into contact with a Covid-19 case
The 36-year-old world leader is in high spirits in the video, which appears to take place in a private apartment, as the group cavorts and dances for a mobile phone camera
Giving more details on the wild night, Marin said that the evening had been spent in two separate flats, with about twenty people. They also went to two bars
Giving more details on the wild night, Marin said that the evening had been spent in two separate flats, with about twenty people. They also went to two bars.
The leaked video was taken from the Instagram stories of a private account and appears to show Finland’s prime minister and her group of Finnish celebrity friends completely unguarded.
Among the public figures seen in the video are Finnish singer Alma and her sister Anna, rapper Petri Nygard, TV host Tinni Wikstrom, photographer and influencer Janita Autio, radio host Karoliina Tuominen, as well as MPs from her own Social Democratic party.
The fun-loving video has drawn criticism within Finland by those who consider the behaviour inappropriate for a world leader, especially in a time of national emergency, with Finland ending its historical neutrality to join NATO and grappling with a belligerent Russia.
At one point a man swishes what appears to be an alcoholic drink past the camera as the beat drops and Marin and her friends dance wildly.
A little earlier in the video, someone can be heard shouting that ‘damn this is going to be a good feeling’.
At one point a man swishes what appears to be an alcoholic drink past the camera as the beat drops and Marin and her friends dance wildly
The leaked video, which is sure to cause embarrassment, was taken from the Instagram stories of a private account and appears to show Finland’s prime minister and her group of Finnish celebrity friends completely unguarded
Marin pictured ready to party at the Flow festival in Helsinki with photographer and influencer Janita Autio – who was featured in the party video – on the latter’s Instagram account
Marin was dubbed ‘the coolest politician in the world’ by German tabloid Bild for her relaxed and down-to-earth style of leadership which some critics have slammed as ‘careless’.
The paper described her as ‘relaxed, modern and self-confident’ but it added that she ‘can also party’. Marin belongs to the ‘cool generation’ which Putin really doesn’t like, Bild wrote.
Despite the incoming flak for the young prime minister, there are also those who see the video as giving her a potential popularity boost for behaving the way many young people do.
The embarrassing video comes just months after Marin was forced to apologise for going out clubbing till 4am after coming into contact with a Covid-19 case.
She came under criticism for missing the text telling her she needed to isolate because she had left her work phone that, as prime minister, she should have had on her at all times at home.
Back in December as Omicron rocked Europe, Marin was seen enjoying a Saturday night out at the Butchers nightclub with friends.
Sanna Marin became one of the youngest world leaders in 2019 when she became Finland’s prime minister at the age of 34
However, hours earlier her Foreign Minister who had had been in close contact with tested positive for Covid. Initially Marin claimed that she did not need to isolate as she was fully vaccinated.
But because she had left her prime minister’s phone at home, she missed the instructions from her own government that she did need to stay home.
She came under fierce criticism for this mishap, with people wondering what would have happened had there been an emergency.
In a statement on Facebook, she said: ‘I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that.’
She was spotted at the nightclub at midnight with her husband Markus Räikkönen and their friends, where she drank Heineken beer and danced.
An eyewitness told the local newspaper: ‘[Marin] sat down with friends and it seemed fun. I noticed that Sanna was a little disturbed by people staring. At the end of the evening, the party surrounded the Prime Minister so that she could be more at ease.’
Marin became one of the youngest world leaders and Finland’s youngest ever when she assumed the role of prime minister at the age of 34 in 2019.
She is part of an emerging trend of female leaders emanating from Scandinavia, which includes Katrin Jakobsdottir of Iceland, Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and also Kaja Kallas of Estonia.
The all-female leaders hail from countries in Scandinavia and the Baltics which are staring down Russian warmonger president Vladimir Putin at a time of intensely heightened international tension.
Marin and her Estonian counterpart Kaja Kallas have called for an EU-wide visa ban on Russian citizens as part of the latest prong in the economic war being fought against Putin.
Finland is already planning to slash the number of visas it issues to Russians, with the land border between the two countries being one of the few entry points into Europe for Russians after a string of Western countries closed their airspace to Russian planes.