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Finland’s ‘Party' PM in election defeat after becoming world’s youngest leader

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Finland’s ‘Party' PM in election defeat after becoming world’s youngest leader
Finland’s ‘Party' PM in election defeat after becoming world’s youngest leader

SANNA Marin has failed to be re-elected as Finland's prime minister after becoming the world's youngest leader at the age of 34.

The so-called "party PM", now 37, was last year dubbed the "coolest politician in the world" due to her relaxed style of leadership.

Sanna Marin was elected as Finland's PM in 2019 tdiqrituidtprw
Sanna Marin was elected as Finland's PM in 2019Credit: The Mega Agency
Leaked footage showed her dancing at a wild party last summer
Leaked footage showed her dancing at a wild party last summer

Marin came under fire last summer and was forced to deny she had used drugs after footage emerged of her twerking at a party.

A video then leaked of Marin - who married husband Markus Räikkönen in 2020 - dancing closely with a pop star at a nightclub.

Marin burst onto the international political stage when she won 2019's Finnish election race, making her the world's youngest leader.

Inside the 40ft igloo being used as a car showroomInside the 40ft igloo being used as a car showroom

She has since been praised for her vocal support of Ukraine and for leading her country through the Covid pandemic.

She has also been applauded for her role in advocating for Finland's successful application to join Nato.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has cleared the last hurdles of becoming a Nato member as alliance members Turkey and Hungary signed off the country's membership bid.

But on Sunday Finland's main Conservative party claimed victory in a tight three-way race that left Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes of re-election.

Based on this result, talks over forming a new government to lead Finland will be initiated under the leadership of the National Coalition Party, according to the party's elated leader Petteri Orpo.

Orpo, Finland's former finance minister and likely new prime minister, assured that the Nordic country's solidarity with Kyiv would remain strong during his tenure.

It comes after Marin took a drugs test last August to prove she had not been using them after leaked footage showed her twerking at a party with pals.

Footage showed Marin with Finnish singer Alma, rapper Petri Nygard as well as TV host Tinni Wikstrom, influencers and members of her own Social Democratic party.

The clip was then published online by the Finnish tabloid newspaper, Iltalehti, and showed Marin dancing, singing and drinking with pals in what appears to be an apartment.

Marin said her only regret was that private footage had been shared.

I married my stepbrother - we had a normal sibling relationship but then snoggedI married my stepbrother - we had a normal sibling relationship but then snogged

She took a drugs test in a bid to silence critics after someone could be heard shouting "flour gang" in the background of the clip.

Further footage then showed Marin dancing "intimately" with popstar Olavi Uusivirta at a nightclub.

But he insisted the pair are just "friends" and that "nothing inappropriate" happened.

Marin, mum to a five-year-old daughter, then apologised after a photo emerged of two topless women kissing at her summer palace.

But Marin's wild ways had already landed her in trouble in her home country and attracted lots of media attention.

In 2021, she was forced to apologise for going clubbing at 4am despite having been in contact with a Covid case.

She attended dinner and drinks just hours after her Foreign Minister tested positive for Covid, claiming she was told she did not need to isolate because she was fully vaccinated.

However, she said she had missed a text message which advised her to do the opposite because she only had her personal phone and not her government phone with her at the time.

Critics slammed her "careless" approach to running a country, stating she should always have her government phone with her in case of emergencies.

In a statement on Facebook, she said: " I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that."

In October 2020, In an interview for lifestyle magazine Trendi, she was photographed wearing a blazer with nothing underneath.

It again sparked public controversy after she was accused of demeaning her office while others branded the comments sexist.

She was filmed dancing with a pop star at a nightclub last year
She was filmed dancing with a pop star at a nightclub last yearCredit: Twitter/visegrad24
Marin married husband Markus Räikkönen in 2020
Marin married husband Markus Räikkönen in 2020Credit: AP

Katie Davis

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