Prime Minister Sanna Marin (34, from Tampere) has been elected as the new leader of the Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP) in a party meeting held in her hometown.
Marin was the only candidate, so she was elected by acclamation, without the need to vote.
Marin succeeds Antti Rinne as party chair. Rinne was also head of government before Marin, but was forced to resign in December 2019 after his government partners from the Center Party (Keskusta) decided to withdraw their trust in him.
"Thank you for your trust, I try to be worth it. Thanks," Marin told after the election.
Thus, Marin also takes control of her party. She never stood in the elections as a candidate for Prime Minister. Her party appointed her to succeed Antti Rinne after his downfall. The SDP MPs had to choose between her and Antti Lindtmann, in a vote in which Marin won by 32 votes to 29.
Sanna Marin (L) greets Antti Rinne during the 46th party meeting. Photo: Roni Rekomaa/dpa.
Relaxed by cleaning
On Saturday, upon her arrival in Tampere Talo, the venue for the meeting, the Prime Minister declared to the press that she had arrived in the city the day before and one of the first things she had done was to clean the house.
"I arrived at Tampere yesterday, and the first thing I did was clean the house. I put everything in order and cleaned the bathroom. For me that is relaxation, doing things with my hands to clarify ideas," she said.
Later, in her speech at the Tampere meeting, she said "I am proud that I can live and work in a society and lead a country where the Prime Ministers clean themselves and wash the bathrooms in their homes. Presidents can travel by subway and tram, decision-makers can go to the supermarket and their children to day care just like any other child."
It is not the first time that Sanna Marin boasts of doing the housework herself. In July, in an in-depth interview with the Helsingin Sanomat monthly supplement, she assured that she likes to relax cleaning in her official residence.
