The Prime Minister of Finland apologizes for an “inappropriate” photo of two women kissing in her official residence

The Prime Minister of Finland seemed to have overcome the controversy of the summer when a new episode of her private life has emerged that has pushed her to apologize publicly on Tuesday. A day after a negative drug test settled last week’s controversy over the video in which she appeared at a party, the Social Democrat Sanna Marin has apologized for an image taken during a party at her official residence that she has described as ” inappropriate”. In the photo, which has gone viral on Tiktok, two well-known influencers in the Nordic country appear topless kissing with a poster that covers their chest that reads “Finland.” “In my opinion, the photo is not appropriate . I apologize. That type of photograph should not have been taken, but beyond that, nothing extraordinary happened in the meeting”, the 36-year-old leader told the media. Marin explained that after attending a festival of music in July, she and her companions headed to Kesäranta, the official residence of the heads of government in Helsinki. “We were in the sauna, we swam and we spent time together,” she explained. The prime minister has detailed that it was the only private party held during her vacation and that there was no security risk, since no one entered the main residence . The guests stayed in the garden, and only accessed the sauna, and the bathroom on the first floor, in which the photo was taken. The entrances to the residence were locked and all the facilities were guarded, he clarified. Hours before that party, a photo of the prime minister was taken in Ruisrock, in which she appears as a festival-goer dressed in short jeans and a jacket. leather. That image was widely celebrated on social networks for showing a young head of government, capable of combining the highest responsibilities with festive moments in her private life.Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.SubscribeFrom that snapshot, however, the prime minister’s penchant for celebrations has become the subject of criticism at home. The video of a party in which she is seen drinking, dancing and singing in a private residence generated a wide public debate in Finland, where her ability to lead the Executive has been questioned. Faced with accusations that drugs were being used at the meeting, the prime minister was forced to give explanations and undergo a drug test last Friday, the negative result of which was announced on Monday. In December, the leader also appeared to publicly apologize for not isolating himself after Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, with whom he had been in contact, tested positive for covid. As she explained, she sent him two text messages informing him of the situation and recommending that he isolate himself from her, but she did not see them. She was at a nightclub and had gone out without her professional cell phone, and she didn’t read them until the next day. Marin tries to project a light-hearted image. “I want to show that there are normal people with normal lives in these jobs,” she has said in the past. She has also complained that both she and other young ministers in her government have been the target of hate messages for being women and for her appearance. Follow all the international information on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter.