Sanna Marin takes the reins of the Finnish coalition government on Tuesday, December 10 and becomes, at the same time, the youngest leader in the world. At 34, she succeeds the Social Democrat Antti Rinne, who announced his resignation from the post of Prime Minister on December 3, under the threat of a vote of no confidence in Parliament.
The young woman was preferred by the leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) to another young wolf of the movement, Antti Lindtman, 37 years old. The latter ran for the position of Prime Minister by playing the right wing of the SDP and could count on the support of centrists who are part of the ruling coalition, while Sanna Marin claims a much more left-wing anchorage.
Sanna Marin has experienced a meteoric rise in the Finnish political class. She joined the SDP youth movement in 2006, forging a strong electoral base in the country's third-largest city, Tempere, where she became president of the city council in 2013. Then she moved up the party's internal ladder, becoming Vice-President of the Movement in 2014, then Member of Parliament in 2015.
Difficult social climate
In 2019, she is responsible for leading the SPD's list in the legislative elections, after which she was re-elected in April. She joined Antti Rinne's government as Minister of Transport and quickly emerged as the Prime Minister's favorite.
During her ascent, Sanna Marin strove to erase the image of pure party product she could give. On her blog and in interviews, she insisted a lot on her atypical family environment and her youth, far from being gilded, which would allow her to understand the expectations of ordinary Finns. Born out of a failed marriage, she was raised by her mother who got married again with another woman. She financed her studies by multiplying odd jobs and her family never rolled on gold.
She takes the lead of the Finnish government in a social climate far from being appeased. A major strike began on Monday, December 9, and the SDP is at the bottom of the polls. With 13.2% of favorable opinions, he is far behind the far-right True Finns party, which receives 24% and is the first opposition party in the country.
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