Finland’s prime minister said she took a drug test “for her own legal protection” after videos emerged this week of her at a “wild” party with friends at a private home.
Speaking at a press conference in Helsinki, Sanna Marin defended her actions and insisted she had never used illegal drugs.
“I took a drug test today and the results will come in a week. Never in my life have I used drugs,” the mother-of-one told the media.
Ms Marin said she drank alcohol at the party, but added that her ability to perform her duties was not impaired during the night in question, apparently a few weeks ago, and that she would have left if she had been forced to work.
She said she had no government meetings over the weekend and “I had time off and spent it with my friends. And I didn’t do anything illegal.”
It comes as a recently released video allegedly showed her dancing closely with a Finnish pop star in a nightclub at a separate event around a fortnight ago.
Previous clips on social media showed Ms Marin, who at 36 is among the world’s youngest leaders, performing in front of the camera and dancing with friends.
One of the people in the videos is believed to be shouting a slang term for cocaine, according to Finnish website Iltalehti.
A video showed six people dancing and imitating a song in front of a camera, including Ms Marin.
Later, she is seen kneeling on what appears to be the dance floor with her arms behind her head dancing while lip-syncing.
She has previously been quoted as saying she had nothing to hide, saw no drug use at the party, and the videos were meant to be shared only within her group.
The party reportedly took place in private apartments and several Finnish media personalities appeared in the clips.
“I’m disappointed that they went public. I spent the evening with friends. I partied, pretty wild, yes. I danced and sang,” Finland broadcaster YLE quoted her as saying.
“I did not use drugs myself, or anything other than alcohol. I danced, sang, partied and did perfectly legal things,” Ms Marin added, according to the newspaper. Hufvudstadsbladet.
Many people in the country expressed their support for the young leader to combine a private life with her high profile career.
But critics have pointed out that Finland, which has an 832-mile long land border with Russia, is currently facing problems related to the invasion of Ukraine, including high electricity prices.
The country recently applied to join NATO after abandoning its neutral stance.
And the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper said the party episode raised questions about his judgement.
“Marin may have acted in good faith, but this gullible shouldn’t be,” the newspaper wrote in an editorial.
“The prime minister can, in a delicate situation, put the weapons of information warfare into the hands of those who would harm Finland,” the newspaper said.
