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Sanna Marin: Finnish PM to divorce as she prepares to leave office

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Finland’s outgoing Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, and her husband, Markus Raikkonen, have announced their decision to divorce after 19 years of marriage.

The couple, who have a five-year-old daughter together, got married in 2020 when Marin was leading the country’s pandemic response. Marin, who became the world’s youngest prime minister in 2019, recently lost the general election, resulting in her party’s defeat.

In an Instagram post, Marin expressed gratitude for the years they spent together and stated that she and Raikkonen would remain best friends, continuing to spend time together as a family. Despite enjoying high popularity and praise for her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, Marin has also faced criticism and controversy, including allegations about her personal life and partying habits.

However, she was cleared of misconduct by parliament and received support from many women in Finland during these incidents. Marin’s government has resigned but will serve on a caretaker basis until the formation of a new government, expected to be concluded by June.

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Sanna Marin defeated by Finland’s conservatives in tight race

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In a closely contested three-way election, Finland’s conservative leader Petteri Orpo defeated the center-left of prime minister Sanna Marin.

“We got the biggest mandate,” said the leader of the National Coalition Party, after a dramatic night in which the result gradually swung away from Ms Marin’s Social Democrats. Prior to the center-left and the right-wing populist Finns Party, Mr. Orpo won 20.8% of the vote.

A record 20.1% went to the populists. Ms. Marin, who increased the number of seats for her party and received 19.9% of the vote, suffered a crushing defeat.

She continues to receive favourable ratings in polls and has won accolades for guiding Finland towards its impending membership in NATO and guiding it through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The center-left candidate conceded the contest shortly after the conservative candidate declared victory.

“Congratulations to the winner of the elections, congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken,” she told supporters.

The three parties had been almost evenly matched in the polls for weeks, but when the results poured in, it became impossible to predict. The National Coalition of Petteri Orpo won the most seats in parliament, according to a prediction from public broadcaster YLE.

By winning more regions than any other party in mainland Finland, the Finns highlighted their accomplishment. Riikka Purra received more votes than any other candidate, and commentators emphasised how her party engaged younger people by using social media platforms like TikTok.

Three other parties in the departing coalition, the Centre Party, Left Alliance, and Greens, also suffered significant setbacks.

Sanna Marin, who is now 37, entered politics in 2019 and quickly rose to the position of leader in the world. She oversaw a coalition of five female-led parties.

Notwithstanding her effective response to neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s economy and public debt dominated the election debate because all of the major parties supported Nato membership.

Many Finns see her as a polarising figure. She came under heavy scrutiny last year when a video emerged of her singing, dancing and drinking at a party. Supporters said the controversy was steeped in sexism and women across Finland and the world shared videos of themselves dancing in solidarity.

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Finland election: Three-way race as Sanna Marin fights for survival

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Finns are voting in an election that is seen as a close battle between the center-left of Prime Minister Sanna Marin and right-wing populists, conservatives, and others.

Even though Finland has the longest border with Russia and is just a few days away from joining NATO, the conflict in the Ukraine has had minimal effect on the country’s political landscape. Instead, the economy has been the key issue in the election.

And Finns are making a significant decision for the future of their nation. The results of over 1.7 million advance ballots will be announced at 20:00 (17:00 GMT), when polls shut. Polls began at 09:00 (06:00 GMT). Right-wing opposition to Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats is the biggest threat.

Petteri Orpo’s conservative National Coalition Party is eager to build a coalition after four years of opposition, but the populist Finns Party may have its best chance to become prime minister ever.

Ms. Marin, now 37, made her debut four years ago as the youngest prime minister in history, leading a coalition of five parties that were all led by women. She continues to have strong poll numbers, but she is viewed as divisive and came under fire last summer when a video showed her singing, dancing, and intoxicating herself at a party surfaced.

“She has a substantial following outside her party,” says Vesa Vares, professor of contemporary history at the University of Turku.

The public debt of Finland and how the nation’s cherished welfare state may be financed in the future have been the main campaign issues.

Even though Sanna Marin claims the government had to spend heavily in reaction to Covid and neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the right has attacked her for raising the national debt.

According to Matti Koivisto, political correspondent for Finland’s public broadcaster YLE, worrying about the public finances is a quality unique to the Finns. But, the country is dealing with a structural issue due to an ageing population and a lack of workers to support it.

The southern region of Uusimaa, where 30% of the population resides, is where the labour shortage is most severe, and it is particularly serious in three of the biggest cities, Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.

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Finland’s Sanna Marin says Europe would be in trouble without US

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According to Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Europe “is not strong enough” to resist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its own and has been forced to rely on US assistance. The head of the potential Nato member stated that Europe’s defences needed to be bolstered while on a visit to Australia.

She added, “I have to be brutally honest with you, Europe isn’t strong enough at the moment. Without the United States, “we would be in serious difficulty.” The majority of Ukraine’s military support comes from the US. According to a research briefing released by the UK’s House of Commons last month, it has invested $18.6 billion (€17.7 billion; £15.2 billion) in support since the conflict began in February.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the European Union is the second-largest donor, followed by the United Kingdom. However, the US’s contributions much outweigh theirs. Additionally, Ms. Marin argued that more needs to be done to strengthen European defences as military supplies from European nations to Ukraine are running low.

Ms. Marin stated: “The United States has contributed a lot of weaponry, a lot of money, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn’t strong enough yet” on Friday at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.

She continued by saying that Europe needed to “develop those capacities in terms of European defence, European defence industry, and making sure that we could handle in different sorts of situations.”

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, frequently criticised NATO members who do not spend enough on defence while in office. According to estimates, the US spent slightly over 3.7% of its GDP on defence in 2020, compared to an average of 1.77% for NATO members in Europe and Canada.

Prime Minister Marin continued by criticising recent initiatives by some European nations to improve their relations with Russia.

The UK said in June that its defence spending would reach 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

According to NATO, all members must pledge 2% in order to “guarantee the alliance’s military readiness.” Additionally, new proposals have been made for NATO countries to raise their defence spending to 3% of GDP.

Finland, which has a significant border with Russia, submitted an official application to join NATO in May. Accession protocols were signed in July, but all other members have not yet ratified them.

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Sanna Marin: Finland PM’s drugs test negative after party video

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After being spotted dancing, singing, and drinking at a recent party, the government of Finland reports that Prime Minister Sanna Marin tested negative for narcotics. To satisfy concerns about her behaviour, Ms. Marin, 36, consented to take the test on Friday.

Although she claims to have never used drugs and to have done nothing wrong during the party, she does admit to drinking beer. She is seen having fun with friends, including a Finnish popstar, in a video that was released.

“No drugs were identified,” according to a government statement in Finnish, during the test. It also said that the prime minister was responsible for covering the test’s costs.

According to the AFP news agency’s citation of special adviser Iida Vallin, Ms. Marin’s urine sample had been examined for the presence of cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis, and opioids. After the tapes were made public, Ms. Marin received criticism from a number of lawmakers. One opposition party leader even demanded that she submit to a drug test.

Reporters questioned whether the prime minister, who has been in office since December 2019, would have been able to make hasty political decisions if necessary at a news conference last week. She defended herself by asserting that she was “very good” at functioning and that she had never used drugs, not even as a teenager.

Formerly the youngest head of state in the world (the honour now belongs to Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic), Ms. Marin is known for her frequent appearances at music festivals and her love of partying.

She apologised for going out clubbing last year after being in close proximity to a Covid-19 case. The German news daily Bild branded Ms. Marin the “coolest prime minister in the world” earlier this month.

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Sanna Marin: Finland PM partying video causes backlash

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After being caught partying in a leaked video, Sanna Marin, the prime minister of Finland, is receiving criticism. She and her companions, who include Finnish celebrities, can be seen dancing and singing in the clip, which is said to have been stolen from social media.

Opposition parties have criticised her, and one leader has called on her to submit to a drug test. Ms. Marin, 36, denied using narcotics, claiming that all she did was drink wine and party “loudly.” Formerly the youngest head of state in the world (the honour is now held by President Gabriel Boric of Chile), Ms. Marin is known for her frequent appearances at music festivals and her love of partying.

She apologised for going out clubbing last year after being in close proximity to a Covid-19 case.

Ms. Marin was been referred to as the “coolest prime minister in the world” by the German news organisation Bild.

She acknowledged being filmed in a statement she made on the video on Thursday, but expressed disappointment that it had been made public.”I danced, sang, and partied – perfectly legal things. And I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen or known of others [using drugs],” she added.

Riikka Purra, the leader of the opposition party, demanded that Ms. Marin submit to a voluntary drug test since the prime minister was under “doubt.”

Additionally, Ms. Marin’s coalition partner MP Mikko Karna tweeted that it “would be wise” for her to “voluntarily submit to a drugs test.”

Ms. Marin expressed to reporters that she had “not used drugs” and had “no trouble passing tests,” indicating that she was receptive to the idea.

“I lead a busy life that includes my family, my job, and my free time with friends. The majority of people my age pretty much agree,” Ms. Marin added.

She added that she felt no need to change her behaviour. “I am going to be exactly the same person as I have been until now and I hope that it will be accepted,” the prime minister added.Since December 2019, Ms. Marin has been in power, and her party continues to back her.

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Media Training Row: Finish FM resigns

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Katri Kulmuni, the Finance Minister of Finland, has filed her resignation following revelations that she spent more than €50,000 of public money on media training.

Ms Kulmuni, who is the leader of the ruling Centre Party since September 2019, earlier promised that she would pay back the entire money to the country.

She is not the first person who has resigned from the coalition government which rules the European country of Finland. Actually, she is the second senior member of the coalition government to resign in the recent times.

Last year, she, who was just 32-year-old, was presented by Finish medias as the young rise from the Finnish political platform.  

While speaking to media personals about the resignation, the young politician has said that she was not aware about the gravity of the issue.

Anyway, speaking about the resignation, Finish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has called the decision of his colleague as bold. V

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Finland’s Sanna Marin to become world’s youngest PM

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Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, is set to become the youngest Prime Minister of the world, after Ukraine’s Oleksiy Honcharuk, 35, and New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden, 39.

At present, the Finnish ‘PM to be’ is only 34 year old. Currently, she is the transport minister of the country.

The road towards her induction has been paved after Antti Rinne resigned from the post of the PM of Finland recently as one of the coalition partners of the centre-left coalition lost confidence in him for his inability to address a recent strike effectively.

The new alternative has been selected by the Social Democratic party itself. Interestingly, the nomination of a woman to the post of the PM of Finland makes the country a true women-led government. At present, all the five parties, which make the coalition, are led by women.


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