We gotta fight for our right to party

As Sanna Marin found out to her peril, the world still fears a woman who knows how to have fun…

Last night, the Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin tested negative for drug use. No, really.

Her urine screening – for cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and opioids according to Marin’s spokeswoman – was demanded by opposition politicians after leaked videos of the 36-year-old leader partying with friends created international headlines. Her crime? Singing and dancing –“albeit boisterously,” as she put it herself.

Marin said she succumbed to demands for a drug test to protect her own reputation, amid widespread speculation about her ability to lead her country. Yet anyone who has ever actually been to a party could have told you that Marin was more likely drinking than drugging – not least as the video showed no evidence of illegality whatsoever, nor any sign she’d spent the night boring on about her own brilliance.

Instead, what it showed was a woman letting loose in the privacy of a friend’s home, having a laugh after a few tequila shots. And the fact she’s had to prove her innocence tells us very little about her, and a whole lot about western society’s attitude towards woman in power.