Finnish PM Sanna Marin's Drug Test Returns Negative Result

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Facts

  • On Mon., results from a drug test - taken by Finnish PM Sanna Marin the previous Fri. - returned a negative result. She was under pressure to take the test after a video of a party she attended emerged on social media that apparently included someone referencing illicit substances.1
  • According to Lida Vallin, one of the PM's advisers, Marin's sample was tested for various drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamine, cannabis, and opioids. Sanna Marin insisted on Fri. she had never in her life used drugs.2
  • Finnish MP Mikko Kärnä, a member of Marin's coalition partner Centre Party, had urged Marin to take the test voluntarily and disclose the results to the public, saying that the Finnish people had a right to transparency.3
  • This isn't the first time Marin has faced backlash for her lifestyle. Last year, she garnered criticism for attending a nightclub despite having come in contact with COVID-positive foreign minister Pekka Haavisto. She missed a notification she recieved to isolate and later issued a public apology for her actions.4
  • Marin became the world's youngest ever PM when she took on leadership of Finland in 2019 at the age of 34. Last week, German news outlet Bild hailed Marin, now 36, as 'the coolest politician in the world.'5

Sources: 1Huffington Post, 2POLITICO, 3New York Post, 4Independent and 5Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by American Spectator. This isn't the first time Marin has shown poor judgment. Her behavior, unprofessional at best, isn't fitting for the leader of a country. It goes without saying that the prime minister of Finland cannot be present at parties where narcotics prohibited by the criminal code are openly consumed.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Huffington Post. There's no evidence of drugs being consumed, and even a PM has the right to a private persona. It's hard to believe that our greatest worry is that our political leaders are kicking back and hanging out with friends without breaking the law doing so.