Sanna Marin: should we judge a leader on their age?
Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin has faced scrutiny in recent weeks after photos of her partying were leaked to the media. Emerita Professor Claire Collins asks whether Marin's age has anything to do with the criticism.
I have noticed recently, as I am a woman ‘of a certain age’, that all around me people are getting younger. I comment on the adverts on television which feature young adults showing off cars, mobile phones, life insurance (they are always 32 yrs old and a non-smoker, by the way). Commentators on the radio, internet, social media and television look as though they have just left school – and yet they are so knowledgeable. Should this bother me?
Actually, it does, and it doesn’t. It does, because I wish that I had been given those opportunities and been that confident when I was their age, and it doesn’t because it is wonderful to see people coming up with fresh ideas of what needs to be done and how we should do it.
In the news over the past couple of weeks, the Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, has been in the spotlight. This has focused on three main areas; she is young, she is a woman, and she has a social life! Clearly all very worrying when it comes to running a country, according to some commentators. I will, therefore, unpick some of these elements to see what is so different about Ms Marin.