By Ingrid Raagaard
When Sanna Marin (36) rose from Minister of Transport to Prime Minister of Finland in autumn 2019 after a government crisis, she was the youngest politician in the world to hold this office.
Just a few weeks earlier, she had celebrated her 34th birthday. Confidently she brushed aside all doubts. “I’ve never thought about my age or my gender. I just think about why I went into politics.”
In her first two years in office, it has now become clear that youth and politics obviously cannot be reconciled – at least if the public takes a very close look at what a young politician does in her private life. And so Sanna Marin has caused excitement and negative headlines several times since 2019.
Marin felt invisible
Sanna Marin grew up in Birkala, a town of 16,000 in southern Finland. Nevertheless, she did not experience an idyllic small-town childhood.
Her family was what would today be called queer. There was no father, but there were two mothers. Both women worked, but the family still had to save. In addition to high school, Sanna Marin worked in a bakery. The lack of money wasn’t the worst, however. At that time, many could not properly classify a two-mother family.
Sanna Marin: “I couldn’t talk about my family, it was quite unconventional at the time. We weren’t considered a real family. I felt invisible.”
But she was purposeful. She studied administration at the University of Tampere and was politically active. Already in 2012 she came to the city council of Tampere, in 2014 she became second leader of the Social Democrats. Everything went smoothly in my private life too. Since 2004, footballer Markus Räikkönen has been the man at her side.
Swirl around plunging neckline
Although Sanna Marin was optimistic about the future when she took office in 2019, problems were not long in coming. You look particularly critically at a young woman’s fingers – or at the neckline, as in October 2020, when she had herself photographed for the fashion magazine Trendi.
On top there was nothing but a tuxedo jacket. No smart blouse, no modest T-shirt. The excitement was great because the tuxedo lapels were low. Finnish philosopher Charlotte Cederborn said at the time on Finnish state television YLE: “We shouldn’t constantly discuss how women dress. If Sanna Marin had worn a pink, fluffy top, there would have been an outcry about it too. It would have been too girly and too feminine.”
The excitement was great, but of course Sanna Marin didn’t have to apologize for anything. After all, she can wear whatever she wants.
Party despite Corona
It was different after her first party gate in December 2021.
At that time, she celebrated all night in Helsinki, even though Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (64) had tested positive for Corona and both had attended a meeting that day at the same time.
When she found out about the positive test result via cell phone, she was sitting in a noble restaurant with her husband and some YouTubers and influencers. Despite the information and the Corona warning, the group moved on together to the in-club “Butschers”. Here the group of friends partied until four in the morning. When her carelessness made headlines later, she acted meek. “I should have had better judgment in this situation.”
The unpaid groceries
By this time, people had almost forgotten that the so-called “Breakfast Gate” had already existed in May.
Like all her predecessors since the 1990s, Sanna Marin and her family get a free breakfast. Other foods in the official residence of the head of government are also financed by the state.
However, the previous residents had paid for their own needs themselves or taxed them as special income. However, Marin had exhausted her legal options to the fullest. The Iltalehti newspaper had gone through all the receipts.
► From the end of 2019 to the time of the scandal in May 2021, Marin and her husband had private food delivered to their house for a total of 14,000 euros without paying.
Iltalehti on 1 Jun 21 in a comment: “In fact, Marin has funded her family’s livelihood with tax money. What is important, however, is that she only used an existing opportunity here.” So she had not violated any laws.
Sanna Marin still fought back at the time: “I will not have any more food delivered to us. I pay everything back. For me there are more important things than cooking for the family.”
apologies
A few days ago, Sanna Marin formally apologized for her last night of partying in August 2022.
It wasn’t the first apology. Even after the Corona party, she said: “I apologize for my behavior. I spent the evening with my friends.” The future will tell if it was her last apology. Or whether the parties with soccer husbands, influencers and YouTubers are just too much fun.