- Several videos and photos try to wear down a leader who has gained international prominence in recent months.
- The EU Pays Russia 89% More For Less Energy Since The Invasion Of Ukraine
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| Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. |
A sexual photo, a party video... The 'campaign' against Marin, the prime minister who makes Finland strong against Putin
A video dancing and photos at another party at the official residence, although not in the most relevant rooms, as she herself said. But those are the two elements that in recent weeks have tried to wear down the figure of Sanna Marin. The Finnish prime minister, who even had to take a drug test under pressure, has gradually dodged some controversy that has put her on target. And they have done so precisely at a time when their country has gained international relevance, due to its entry into NATO and a very hard position against Vladimir Putin's Russia.
At the age of 29, Marin was already a parliamentarian, and only four years later she became Minister of Transport and Communications. But the most relevant event occurred in December 2019 when she became the youngest prime minister in the world, at 33 years old, after replacing Antti Rinne as head of the Government, who resigned just a few months after the Social Democrats won the elections. . Marin has precisely led the progressive formation since 2020 and has had one of the most valued management of the Covid pandemic at a European level.
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Marin, however, leads a very broad Executive (although made up of 19 ministries). The Social Democratic Party, the Center Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance, and the Swedish People's Party are part of it. The margin that the Social Democrats have in Parliament is only one seat, so the pressure from the opposition has always been very high. In fact, a few days after taking office, the prime minister had to face a motion of censure for managing immigration policy.
However, the final turn of Sanna Marin has come in 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister has been, together with President Sauli Niinisto, the visible face of a historic step for Finland: accession to NATO after many decades of fictitious neutrality and being a country that knows the ins and outs of the Kremlin like few others. That move has been seen by many as the reason Marin's videos have seen the light of day, though she has denied she is being blackmailed. She showed her face and turned the page, although she had to go out again to apologize for a photo of two of her friends kissing in a room in the official residence. Parallel to these events, Marin has been one of the leaders who has carried out the gradual ban on the issuance of visas to Russian tourists, an issue that has not yet generated consensus among the 27 Member States of the European Union.
At the time and on the matter of the videos, Marin ruled out before the media that he had taken drugs and only admitted alcohol consumption. As for the party, the Finnish president admitted to journalists on Tuesday that the image in question was taken in Kesäranta and that the two young women in the photo are her friends, although she apologized for the snapshot. "I think that photo is not appropriate, I apologize for that. They should not have taken that photo, but otherwise, nothing extraordinary happened during that night," he said.
The prime minister affirmed that the two young women were part of a group of friends whom she invited to the official residence on July 9, after attending a rock festival in which they took a photo of her in a leather jacket and "shorts". "Cowboys that went around the world. "We were in the sauna, we went swimming and we were in the garden, but we didn't go into the main building. We only used the guest toilets on the ground floor, which is where that photo was apparently taken," he said. According to Marin, it was the only private party she has organized in Kesäranta during her vacation and it did not pose any kind of security threat, since the doors of the residence were locked and all the facilities were guarded.
Despite the criticism, the Finnish leader also received numerous expressions of support, not only from other politicians but also from the citizens of her country. And it is that several women recorded and shared their videos dancing on networks as a form of support for Marin. "I have leaked it myself," a tweeter commented ironically when posting a video dancing with her friends. Many people do not understand what this controversy came about and are delighted that their prime minister also has a private life and goes partying on her vacation.
Finland adapts to how the world has changed
Finland is not (or was, rather) a neutral country by choice, but by obligation. Finland's policy of neutrality dates back to the period immediately after the Second World War. Its interest in remaining neutral in conflicts between great powers was first recognized in a treaty between Finland and the USSR in 1948 (the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance). The Treaty forbids the signatories to join a military alliance against the other, and Finland could not allow its territory to be used for an attack against the USSR. That balance with the Soviets was forced precisely to avoid a clash with the regime.
Finland was also obliged to preserve its neutrality through adequate armed forces. However, that status is not rooted in international law, and there are no international commitments to its neutrality. This has changed with recent events, and both Finland and Sweden have been willing to approach NATO, in fact, the former Finnish Prime Minister, Alexander Stubb, recalled that this neutrality is not entirely firm if one takes into account the existing collaboration with the Atlantic Alliance for many years now. A collaboration that in a short time will become directly a membership. And with Marin at the helm.
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