I HAVE never been to Finland as it strikes me as being a place with too many trees and lakes for its own good, while the language seems to be a random smattering of vowels and consonants thrown together.
Situated to the east of Sweden and Norway and sharing a huge 1340km border with Russia it is also not really a place that jumps out at you when you’re considering a summer beach holiday.
Let’s be frank, when it comes to naming a famous Finn, it comes close to Belgium for its lack of global superstars.
But, judging by a video doing the rounds of the country’s prime minister at a ‘wild’ party in her friends house, it may be worth reassessing as Finland seems a bit of a riot.
If the country’s leader’s raving is anything to go by then the nightclubs of Helsinki are sure to be a good night out.
The video posted on social media shows six people dancing and mimicking a song in front of a camera, including the PM Sanna Marin.
Later in the video, Ms Marin, 36, is on her knees on what seems to be the dance floor with her arms behind her head dancing while mimicking a song.
Po-faced political opponents, of course, jumped on the footage and demanded all sorts of retribution.
It is an outrage, apparently, for a young woman to have a good night out, even if she is supposed to be running the country.
Ms Marin said she did not take any drugs during the “wild” party adding she did nothing wrong when letting her hair down and partying with friends.
She was quoted by Finnish broadcaster YL as saying: “I’m disappointed that it has become public. I spent the evening with friends. Partied, pretty wild, yes. Danced and sang.”
Ms Marin – who in December 2019 became Finland’s youngest prime minister – said she spends her free time with friends just like others her age and will continue to be the same person as before.
In July, Ms Marin attended a popular Finnish rock festival, while in December, she made a public apology after going out clubbing until 4am without her work phone, hence failing to be informed that she had been in close contact with a Covid-19 positive person.
All in all, she does exactly what people do at that age and she should applauded for doing so. The Finnish population don’t seem that bothered and nor should they – none of us should.
It is good to see a senior politician actually enjoying themselves and having a human side as opposed to the soundbite cretins that seem to inhabit the corridors of power everywhere else.
But can you imagine the reaction if a similar thing happened over here, particularly if it happened to be a Tory or Nicola Sturgeon?
Twitter would explode with rage, people would be fainting on the streets while even the birds might stop singing at the very thought of a political leader having fun.
However, it would undoubtedly be a vote winner although I am not encouraging Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to start busting some shapes in the nearest club.
Our politicians, right across the board, seem to be utterly devoid of humour and seem to want to outdo each other in trying to be as clean-cut and boring as possible.
They seem to think that what the electorate want is a safe pair of hands, someone who looks and sounds the part regardless of competence.
But as trust in politicians dwindles to a point it no longer exists, maybe a radical change of tack is required to re-engage the disaffected voters.
It doesn’t seem to be doing Ms Marin any harm after all.
In these grim times with the cost of everything going through the roof, surely seeing Nicola Sturgeon having a right blast at a house party would boost morale. It would show that she can be one of us if she tried.
While the only naughty thing that Theresa May has ever done in her life is run through a wheat field, Liz Truss looks like she knows her way around a party.
She looks like a really bad karaoke singer too but seems game enough to give Gloria Gaynor a blast.
Rishi Sunak less so, but given he is a self-confessed full fat Coca-Cola addict, give him a few of them and I’m sure he’d liven up a bit.
Keir Starmer seems like he’d suck the life out of any party he went to, although he does seem to like a pint and a curry, like the rest of the working class.
Boris Johnson, of course, seems to be permanently at a party, even though they’re apparently so bad he doesn’t even realise he’s at one.
Politicians should live a little as the party will be over soon enough.
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