Elected at the tender age of 34, Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland has the privilege of being one of the youngest prime ministers in the game. She was elected in 2019 as a Socialist Democrat and represents the Centre-Left Coalition. Recently, she was criticized for poor judgment surrounding her choices around Covid-19 precautions and socializing.
On Saturday, her Foreign Minister tested positive for Covid and she had been in close contact with him. Because she was vaccinated, she was initially told that she would not need to isolate herself before getting a Covid test. A text was later sent to her work phone, telling her the opposite. At that point, she was already out clubbing in Helsinki, and had left her work phone at home.
She returned from Butcher’s Club a little after 4AM and upon receiving the updated text, got a Covid test. The results were negative. Initially, she defended her actions. This is in line with the Millennial mindset of breaking free from toxic work culture, and burnout. But she later changed her mind and apologized to the people.
“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that.”
The Finnish guidelines are someone paradoxical. They outline that someone who is fully vaccinated does not need to isolate in such a situation. But they should also voluntarily avoid social contact if they are waiting for a covid test. There is even more pressure on political figureheads to lead with a good example and limit social contact.
Her opposition have jumped at the chance to call her irresponsible, young, and ill prepared. And up until now, Marin has enjoyed overseeing one of the best performing countries in the Euro-zone in regards to Covid. However, with the darkening of days, infections have been on the rise since September. And there are currently eight recorded cases of the new variant of concern across Finland. With Europe moving more and more towards another shut down, the answer seems simple: dance while you can.
As for Europe’s youngest prime minister. Was she irresponsible? Was she wrong for leaving her work phone behind on a Saturday? As always, EDMTunes encourages you to think critically and make up your own mind.
