Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday she has taken a drug test after coming under fire following the release of a video that showed her partying with friends.
“I have today taken a drug test and the results will come within a week,” she told a news conference on Friday afternoon at her official residence Kesäranta. “Even in my teenage years, I haven’t used any kind of drugs. I took the tests just to be sure [because of the suspicion].”
“I did nothing illegal,” the 36-year-old leader said, insisting that she is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Video clips of Marin partying with well-known Finnish influencers and artists began circulating on social media earlier this week and they were soon published by several media outlets in Finland and abroad.
Marin had faced calls to do a drug test from politicians in her government coalition as well as from the far-right opposition, as the leaked videos reportedly included people in the background talking about cocaine.
Although Marin acknowledged she was constantly being filmed, she reiterated that she was upset that the footage had been publicly leaked.
“I trust that people understand that leisure time and work time can be separated,” she added.
Marin brushed off comments on whether her ability to perform her duties remained unimpaired during the night in question, given the tensions between Helsinki and Moscow.
She said that she would have left the party had she been required to work.
“The State Council is always functional, and meetings are not called in the middle of the night. If you need to reach me, I am always ready to do work.”
Just last week, Marin was dubbed the “coolest Prime Minister in the world” by German news outlet Bild. The young prime minister has often been photographed at music festivals and has already been seen partying before.
Last year, she apologized for going to a bar after coming into close contact with a COVID-19 case.
