An official investigation cleared Sanna Marin of misconduct after a leaked video showing the 36-year-old Finnish Prime Minister exuberantly dancing and drinking with friends and celebrities has made headlines around the world.
Multiple complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman alleged excessive drinking at the party in August rendered Marin, the world’s youngest head of government when she was elected in 2019, unable to perform her official duties. .
However, the Finnish Chancellor of Justice – an independent office responsible for monitoring the legality of ministers’ actions, to which any citizen can lodge a complaint – concluded that she had not neglected her responsibilities.
There was “no reason to suspect the Prime Minister of unlawful conduct in the performance of his duties or negligence in his official responsibilities,” Tuomas Pöysti, Chancellor of Justice, wrote in his ruling.
Complaints to the chancellor also claimed her behavior was inappropriate for a prime minister and that she had damaged Finland’s “reputation and security”.
Pöysti said the complaints did not specify what official function the Prime Minister would have failed to perform, or what tasks she might have been unable to perform if she had been asked to do so, and that he could only assess that “concrete situations”.
At the time, Marin told reporters she was “upset” that the clips, which she knew were being filmed but believed to be kept private, had been leaked. “I spent the evening with my friends, partied, even rowdy, danced and sang,” she said.
Amid unsubstantiated reports of drugs being used, she denied ever taking any herself and took a test which was negative. “I am human. And I too sometimes yearn for joy, light and pleasure in the midst of these dark clouds”, she said later.
The Chancellor also made complaints about a photograph taken at a party at the prime minister’s residence showing model and influencer Sabina Särkkä and another woman – not Marin – kissing and lifting their tops.
Pöysti said his responsibilities were limited to judging the legality of ministers’ actions and that it was not for him to assess the ‘moral and social’ dimensions of a prime minister’s leisure activities or the trust he enjoys .
Such matters are “a matter for Parliament”, he said, adding that political responsibility “is also weighed periodically in democratic elections”. The prime minister’s official residence can be used for private events, he said.
Marin’s critics and political opponents claimed his behavior had been inappropriate, reckless and irresponsible, saying his choice of friends showed poor judgment and that leaked photos and videos could expose him to criticism or even blackmail.
Her many supporters – including women who posted videos of themselves dancing – defended his right to party. The Prime Minister herself said she hoped that “in 2022 it will be accepted that even decision-makers can dance, sing and go to parties”.
She said it would be up to voters in the election to assess whether her behavior was “appropriate from their point of view, and what they think about it”.