Dancing politicians

[lpetrich]

Catching up to a bizarre issue that emerged a few months ago.

Sanna Marin party scandal: Finland PM has women posting dancing videos - NBC News - "Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 36, has found herself under fire after footage of her singing and dancing with celebrities was leaked to the local press last week."

"A world leader with a penchant for partying is nothing new." - like former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi with his "Bunga Bunga" parties.

But Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has found herself under fire after footage of the 36-year-old singing and dancing with celebrities was leaked to the local press last week.

The public fallout from the video, and a subsequent picture that emerged of topless influencers partying at her official residence, has led Marin to take a drug test and apologize. It's also fueled a social media trend that highlights a debate over what many expect of their leaders — especially when they're female.

...
“She is now surrounded by people who are just taking advantage of her,” Tiina Lokka of the conservative Finnish podcast Monokulttuuri FM told NBC News.

“They don’t care about her but only want to make social media posts about partying with the PM, and they don’t care about the damage it causes to her. But it’s the PM’s bad judgment in the end,” she added.

...
She gave a tearful speech during a meeting of her Social Democratic Party in the southern city of Lahti on Wednesday, asking to be judged for her work and not what she chooses to do in her free time.

“I am also human,” a red-eyed Marin was reported as saying by Finnish media, speaking with a broken voice. She added that she had never failed to attend to a single work task because she took time off. “I do my job. I learn from this,” she reportedly said.

“But I want to believe that people look at the work we do, not what we do in our free time.”

Finland's prime minister said she didn't do drugs at 'wild' party, just danced and sang - NBC News - "A video posted on social media shows six people dancing and mimicking a song in front of a camera, including Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin."

Finland's prime minister takes drug test following leaked party video - "“In recent days, there have been quite grave public accusations that I was in a space where drugs were used, or that I myself used drugs,” Sanna Marin told reporters."

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

She should have stuck to playing golf and cheating at that.

 

[TV and credit cards]

It’s the ones who you don’t know what they are doing in their spare time you have to worry about.

I find it commendable that the Finnish PM is helping to maintain the country’s first place ranking in the World Happiness Report.

 

[lpetrich]

The video itself:
Visegrád 24 on Twitter: "Finland’s Prime Minister @MarinSanna is in the headlines after a video of her partying was leaked today.
She has previously been criticized for attending too many music festivals & spending too much on partying instead of ruling.
The critics say it’s not fitting for a PM. (vid link)" / Twitter

Dancing in the limelight: when world leaders take to the dancefloor | World news | The Guardian - "Sanna Marin follows in a long line of politicians filmed dancing, some more enthusiastically than others"

Sanna Marin’s penchant for partying may have landed her in a spot of bother at home, but even her fiercest critics would not deny that the Finnish prime minister throws more than competent shapes – certainly compared to some other world leaders.

As social media has been quick to point out, very few heads of state or government, present or past, can move like Marin. So here’s a reminder of how a few other top politicians fared when they hit the dancefloor.

noting
Jon Schnee (Of Us) on Twitter: "Alle reden über Sanna Marin aber es gibt so viel mehr zu sehen, deswegen:
Tanzende Staats- und Regierungschefs, ein Thread " / Twitter

Everyone is talking about Sanna Marin but there is so much more to see, so:
Dancing heads of state and government, a thread

 

[lpetrich]

From The Guardian:

Now, here’s perhaps the finest of several startling dance performances from Britain’s former prime minister Theresa May, bopping enthusiastically at the Henley festival ...

Not to be outdone, her successor, Boris Johnson, produced some smooth moves of his own at his belated wedding bash this summer ...

Further afield, here’s the former German chancellor Angela Merkel with a brave effort, albeit confined largely to somewhat bewildered hand-clapping ...

Her successor, Olaf Scholz, is shown here before his election, resolutely refusing to bop at all ...

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, appears equally reluctant to trip the light fantastic ...

And France’s Emmanuel Macron plainly hated getting dragged up on to a stage in Lagos a few years ago ...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on the other hand, was an accomplished showman long before he became president of Ukraine ...

Barack Obama also knew how to cut a rug ...

The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, though, was distinctly uncomfortable strutting his stuff to American Boy ...

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, knew how to let it all hang out ...

And finally, lest we forget the granddaddy of them all. Back in the last century, Boris Yeltsin shook a mean leg. Just not as mean as Sanna Marin’s ...

‘Elvis’ Zelenskiy and Trump’s wiggle: the best and worst dancing world leaders | World news | The Guardian
"The Guardian dance critic Lyndsey Winship casts her eye over their routines and divides the showstoppers from the clodhoppers."

Top 3:

1. Volodymyr Zelenskiy - "Zelenskiy won the first season of Ukraine’s version of Strictly Come Dancing in 2006 with his confident footwork."
2. Barack Obama - "Obama is a man of effortless grace, and that quality is all over his dancing."
3. Boris Yeltsin - "Yeltsin’s boogie proves that dancing doesn’t have to be “good” to be great."

Bottom 3:

1. Theresa May - "But Theresa May’s moves, including this unexpected robot, come with the forced joviality of someone who’s just been pushed on stage by a Spad telling her to “Have fun!”, resulting in the same awkwardness as clutching for a “running through wheat fields” anecdote."
2. Donald Trump - "Instead of a Trump rally’s usual macho chanting, the ex-president showcased a little move we might call “the Trombone”, enhanced with a camp hip wiggle to the sound of YMCA."
3. Boris Johnson - "The arms aloft say “football boor”. "

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got caught up in a dance scandal when she was first elected. Someone dug up this old video of her and some friends doing some dance moves from the 1980's movie "The Breakfast Club": Phoenix - Lisztomania - Boston University Brat Pack Mashup - YouTube
This was done in her college years, in 2010, and she's credited as "Sandy Ocasio-Cortez".

Her response was to do some more dancing:

BBC News (World) on Twitter: ""Congresswomen dance too!"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez answers her dance critics with a new video
[Tap to expand] (links)" / Twitter
noting
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Lawmaker mocks college dance critics - BBC News

Mother Jones on Twitter: ""I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!" (pic link)" / Twitter
noting
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Responds to Her Dance Haters With Even More Dancing – Mother Jones

What a refreshing contrast from the whimpering cowardice that the Clinton and Obama Admins showed toward the right wing.

Early this year, at a rally in Texas:
Jorge M Galván on Twitter: "Congresswoman @AOC dancing Selena. That’s all the tweet (vid link)" / Twitter

She is not alone.

Cori Bush:
Melanie Johnson on Twitter: "District 1 Congresswoman @CoriBush says she is dancing her way to victory tonight. She is preparing to address supporters in a moment. Bush is taking on State Senator Steve Roberts in the race for Congress. @KMOV (vid link)" / Twitter

Ilhan Omar:
IT’S TIME FOR JUSTICE on Twitter: "It’s the weekend and Congresswoman @IlhanMN is dancing to @lizzo I can’t think of a better way to start your weekend off, can you ? (vid link)" / Twitter

I like this assessment:
New Congresswomen Dancing, Yelling And Cussing, Are Probably Witches - Wonkette

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

 

[lpetrich]

Jacinda Ardern fires back at suggestion she met with Sanna Marin because of age : NPR

The two prime ministers held a press conference - Finnish PM Sanna Marin, Jacinda Ardern speak from NZ in joint press conference | Newshub - YouTube - and someone asked:

"A lot of people will be wondering, are you two meeting just because you're similar in age and, you know, got a lot of common stuff there," a reporter from a New Zealand outlet asked Ardern.

"Or can Kiwi's actually expect to see more deals down the line between the two countries—"

"My first question is I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked [former U.S. President] Barack Obama and [former New Zealand Prime Minister] John Key and if they met because they were of similar age," Ardern interjected with a smile, referencing the five-day age difference between the two leaders.

"We of course have a higher proportion of men in politics. It's reality. But because two women meet, it's not simply because of their gender."

noting
SBS News on Twitter: "Watch NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pick apart this reporter's question during a joint press conference with Finnish PM Sanna Marin. He asked the pair 'are you two meeting because you're similar in age and got a lot of common stuff there?' Read more: (links)" / Twitter
noting
Reporter asks Jacinda Ardern if she's meeting Finland's Sanna Marin because they are 'similar in age' | SBS The Feed - "She asked if that question was ever put to Barack Obama or John Key."
Back to The Guardian.

When it was her turn to speak, Marin added simply, "We are meeting because we're prime ministers," before turning to Finland's desire to undo its economic dependence on authoritarian regimes.

"It's our job to further [our countries' economic opportunities], regardless of our gender," she concluded.

It got responses like
Robyn (will use caps) on Twitter: "Joey Dwyer’s question that Jacinda Arden and Sanna Marin met up because they’re “a similar age… and… common stuff…” is so embarrassing and sexist.
He was one sentence away from asking the prime ministers if they met to talk about boys and if their periods have synced up yet." / Twitter

Also Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin dismiss suggestion their age and gender was reason for meeting | New Zealand | The Guardian

 

[lpetrich]

Gurbaksh Singh Chahal on Twitter: "JUST IN: #BNNFinland Reports. ..." / Twitter

JUST IN: #BNNFinland Reports.

A formal investigation cleared Sanna Marin (@MarinSanna) of misconduct after a leaked video of the 36-year-old Finnish Prime Minister drinking and dancing with friends and celebrities made international news. #Finland #sannamarin #Politics

Multiple complaints to the parliamentary ombudsman alleged that excessive alcohol consumption at the party in August would have made Marin unable to carry out her official duties.

However, Finland's chancellor of justice - an independent agency responsible for evaluating the legality of ministers' conduct, to which any citizen may file a complaint - found she had not neglected her duties.

The chancellor of justice, Tuomas Pöysti, concluded in his ruling that there was "no grounds to accuse the prime minister of unlawful conduct in the execution of her duties, or of any negligence of her official obligations."

 

[lpetrich]

Finland's prime minister is at the center of a social media trend : NPR - "In social media feeds, women are showing themselves dancing, singing or holding a drink to show their solidarity with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin."

At Alt for Damerne, a Danish weekly women's magazine, female employees compiled a montage of themselves dancing to show women supporting other women.

"Our first idea was to write a column or editorial but then we thought, let's do this with some kind of humor and show that we all have those clips on our camera roll that wasn't supposed to see the light of day," Editor-in-Chief Rikke Dal Støttrup told NPR.

Rixt van Dongera on Twitter: "#solidaritywithsanna op Lowlands (vid link)" / Twitter

#solidaritywithsanna

S Sebag Montefiore on Twitter: "At last. A political movement i can support wholeheartedly #solidaritywithsanna" / Twitter
noting
Very Finnish Problems on Twitter: "Love it! Danish women are posting videos of themselves partying while tagging Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
To show “Solidarity with Sanna” (vid link) / Twitter

SBS News on Twitter: "Leaked videos of Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin partying sparked a political backlash. Now, women are "leaking" videos of themselves dancing with the hashtag #SolidarityWithSanna.
Read more here: (links)" / Twitter

Finland's prime minister has explained her 'boisterous' partying. Is she being unfairly targeted? | SBS News - "Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has responded to scrutiny after a video of her partying with friends was leaked."