I’m relieved AF to be able to tell you that we have some positive news to report. Yes! I know! You’re shocked! Me too, babe.
Well let’s dig in. One of our Scandinavian betters, Finland (the world’s happiest country), has elected Sanna Marin as their prime minister. Why do we care? Because this means that the five major parties in Finland’s parliament are now all lead by women. At 34, Marin is also now the world’s youngest sitting prime minister. She’s a part of the Social Democrat party and will lead a centre left coalition government.
Marin has been an MP since 2015 and was previously the party’s vice chair. She’s replacing Prime Minister Rinne, who stepped down after he lost the support of a key coalition partner, the centre party, who stated they didn’t trust him. Rinne was Finland’s first left wing leader in twenty years, which is nothing to sniff at. However, a two week strike that started with the state owned postal service and had a widespread effect on Finland’s other industries ultimately resulted in a loss of faith in him.
But back to what we REALLY care about, women. Katri Kulmuni, Maria Ohisalo, Li Andersson and Anna-Maja Henriksson are the other leaders of the coalition parties. Three of these four leaders are also all under 35. While the youthful side of the population may be in the streets in other countries, it appears in Finland they’re welcomed in government.
In 1906, Finland was the first country in Europe to give women the right to vote. A well funded education system, a trial for universal basic income, and a pledge to make Finland carbon neutral by 2035 make this country pretty much a paradise for liberal women (hi!) and with this exciting development in leadership, it doesn’t seem far fetched to predict that this will only increase. I do wonder if this will change Finland’s foreign policy. In a world where there are more strongmen type politicians than not, it will be interesting to see the choices the new prime minister will make when going up against them.
But who exactly is Sanna Marin? She was the first person in her family to go to university, she was raised by a same-sex couple or in her words, “a rainbow family.” In 2015, she told the Finnish site Menaiset that she felt her growing up in an LGBT+ home has influenced her values as a politician. Let’s rejoice for inclusivity! “For me people have always been equal. It’s not a matter of opinion. That’s the foundation of everything.” She goes on to talk about that many who surrounded her and her family did not make them feel seen or equal. She’s also a mother to a two year old daughter.
Essentially, Sanna Marin is the nightmare of every Trump or Johnsonesque politician, of which, we all know, there are many. For a number of years there has been a debate in the international relations community of whether the world would be different if run by women, this development is a first step in finding out. My prediction? That we’ll all be better for it.
