Sanna Marin’s penchant for partying may have landed her in a spot of bother at home, but even her fiercest critics would not deny that the Finnish prime minister throws more than competent shapes – certainly compared to some other world leaders.
As social media has been quick to point out, very few heads of state or government, present or past, can move like Marin. So here’s a reminder of how a few other top politicians fared when they hit the dancefloor.
First, though, this is how it should be done:
Now, here’s perhaps the finest of several startling dance performances from Britain’s former prime minister Theresa May, bopping enthusiastically at the Henley festival:
Theresa May living it up at the Henley Festival just hours after Boris resigned is kind of everything. pic.twitter.com/ZHeoTc6291
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) July 8, 2022
Not to be outdone, her successor, Boris Johnson, produced some smooth moves of his own at his belated wedding bash this summer:
Further afield, here’s the former German chancellor Angela Merkel with a brave effort, albeit confined largely to somewhat bewildered hand-clapping:
Angela Merkel, auch Konservative können, naja, nennen wir es Tanzen pic.twitter.com/KTJcNdHBnb
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
Her successor, Olaf Scholz, is shown here before his election, resolutely refusing to bop at all:
Olaf Scholz, noch nicht im Amt aber Tanzen ist Tanzen pic.twitter.com/sL1bYnUolN
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, appears equally reluctant to trip the light fantastic:
Bonus: Mark Rutte, Ministerpräsident der Niederlande mit freundlichem Dank an @RA_Conrad pic.twitter.com/fbLuPdPjrp
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
And France’s Emmanuel Macron plainly hated getting dragged up on to a stage in Lagos a few years ago:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on the other hand, was an accomplished showman long before he became president of Ukraine:
Wolodymyr Selenskyj, der vermutlich am besten tanzende Staatschef der Welt, hier weit vor seiner Präsidentschaft pic.twitter.com/wEPch6qOom
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
Barack Obama also knew how to cut a rug:
Barack Obama, auch im Wahlkampf aber gewinnt im direkten Vergleich um Längen pic.twitter.com/rJFNgQ5SGX
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, though, was distinctly uncomfortable strutting his stuff to American Boy:
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, knew how to let it all hang out:
Justin Trudeau, definitiv mit fortgeschrittenen Moves pic.twitter.com/fzBif29Sqm
— Jon Of Us ☀️ (@JonOfUs) August 18, 2022
And finally, lest we forget the granddaddy of them all. Back in the last century, Boris Yeltsin shook a mean leg. Just not as mean as Sanna Marin’s: