Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has addressed a video posted on social media last week showing her dancing with a group of friends and celebrities.

The video of the 36-year-old, taken at a party that included Finnish celebrities, was soon published by several Finnish media outlets and spread internationally.

Shortly after the video leaked, pictures emerged of a private party at the prime minister’s official residence in Helsinki showing two well-known female social media “influencers” kissing each other, covering their bare breasts with a sign that read “Finland.”

Tuesday the prime minister publicly apologized for the pictures. She had also earlier agreed to take a drug test, which came back negative on Monday.

Addressing a gathering of her Social Democrat party in Helsinki’s Lahti Market Square Wednesday, Marin said it had been a difficult week for her, but added, “I am human, and I too sometimes long for joy, light and fun amidst these dark clouds.” She said sometimes that involves pictures and videos and other things the public might not want to see and she might not want them to see.

But she was quick to add, “I have not missed a single day of work. I have not left a single task undone.”

The prime minister received the support of her party and remains popular with the public, though in the days since the video was released, there has been a debate in the media about how the prime minister’s leisure activities might affect her job performance.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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