Sanna Marin’s Stardom Fails to Clinch Victory in Finnish Election Upset

Leo Laikola
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Finland’s Sanna Marin is set to lose her position as prime minister following an election upset, underscoring how her star power wasn’t enough to offset concerns over a bloated budget and other domestic issues.

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The 37-year-old Social Democrat personally drew 35,600 votes on Sunday’s election — an 87% increase over her showing four years ago, but still not enough to defeat populist opponent Riikka Purra.

The world’s youngest sitting prime minister when she took office and head of a five-party cabinet led solely by women, Marin became wildly popular among millennials for her outspokenness and relatability. She frequently posted selfies and videos of herself exercising on Instagram, posed for Vogue and made global headlines after clips of her partying at a Helsinki nightclub went viral.

She also helped steer Finland through the process of joining NATO, one of the most significant foreign policy shifts in the country’s history. Days before announcing the decision to apply, Marin showed up at a high-stakes press conference in a funky leather jacket.

In October, a video of Marin dryly remarking that the best way to end the war in Ukraine was “for Russia to leave Ukraine” ricocheted all over the Internet, confirming to supporters that she was willing to voice opinions that other western leaders would not.

While Finns were pleased at the positive attention that came with having an “international superstar” as a prime minister, said Essi Poyry, senior researcher at the University of Helsinki, she added that Marin was a divisive figure domestically.

“Even though she is popular in Finland,” Poyry noted that there is a “very loud crowd” within the country that disapproves of her “progressive values.”

Ultimately, international fame wasn’t enough to ensure victory at home. After the election came to down to the issue of public finances, which critics accused Marin of mismanaging during her tenure, Finnish voters decided that the pro-business National Coalition opposition group and the anti-immigration Finns Party were better alternatives.

Marin’s stardom also siphoned away support from her cabinet partners, who struggled in Sunday’s elections. The Center Party of Annika Saarikko’s Center Party secured the fewest seats in a century, the Left Alliance reported the worst results in its history and the Green Party had its worst showing since 2011.

Because the outgoing prime minister is so popular abroad, said Poyry, “I have encountered surprise at the fact that not everybody loves Sanna Marin.”

“We have to remember,” she added, “that Marin is not politically accountable to people who do not live in Finland.”

--With assistance from Philip Tabuas.

(Updates with details)

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