Prime Minister Party Girl Sanna Marin

Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, feminists insisted that women be recognized for their achievements, not their private parts. Feminists did not say it, but they were surely implying, if they knew what they were implying, that women should keep private matters out of public spaces. And that means, they should keep their private affairs out of the workplace and out of public view. In other words, no more walks of shame.

At the same time, some feminists were also saying that the personal is political, which implies that the political is personal. They were encouraging women to politicize their personal lives, turn their kitchens into war zones, fight for the revolution in their salons and boudoirs. By extension, and it does not take too much of a stretch, women were being told to bring their private matters into the workplace. Since women had a superior capacity for empathy and since they were more attuned to their emotions, they ought to share these on the job, on the factory floor and in the boardroom.

Unfortunately, more than a few males, being less than intelligent about these matters, thought that they were being invited to make the workplace a place to party. They failed to respect the wall between public and private and launched far too much sexual harassment. They personalized the political, that is they acted as though private matters were relevant to office interaction.

Anyway, this brings us to a case that is causing anguish across the Western world. If you wonder what’s wrong with the Western world, the case of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin puts it all in relief.

At a time when Finland is poised to join NATO, becoming a military protectorate of America, Marin was photographed getting down and dirty at a party. Prime Minister Party Girl-- at a time when Russia and Ukraine are fighting it out, Western Europe sends out the image, not of strong and resolute leadership, but of a nation that does not respect itself. We will not belabor the point, but in terms of gross improprieties, we note that Marin is a married women. Unfortunately, being married no longer counts. Obviously, Finland is joining NATO-- and not a minute too soon.

And yes, I do not mean to put the onus on Sanna Marin, but surely the Western European and American obsession with showing itself to be sensitive, empathetic, compassionate and caring, that is of advertising its feminine qualities, must have played into Vladimir Putin’s assessment that the West was weak and that it needed to be put in its place. After all, the leader of Ukraine once appeared on Dancing with the Stars.

So, Prime Minister Party Girl Sanna Marin embarrassed herself and embarrassed her country and embarrassed the Western world. Little doubt about that. And yet, the reaction from the media and from Western feminists has been a clear and resounding defense of Party Girl Sanna. 

Do not for an instant believe that these great minds have minds at all. Do not for an instant believe that they understand the least little bit about shame.

Strangely, they have not the least sense of the difference between public and private behavior. They righteously intone that the girl has a right to party when the issue has nothing to do with the girl’s right to party. In truth, the issue is whether the girl has a right to make herself a public spectacle.

Some things you and I and all normal people do in private, we do not post on the internet. We do not show off our private activities in a public space. If we did, other people would think less of us, would see us as lesser, would identify us as not quite ready to assume awesome public responsibilities. Then again, being an American protectorate means that you can keep in close touch with your inner adolescent.

Allow me to speculate that the prime minister of a country like Finland has some very serious security. And allow me to explain that her security detail ought, if it is worth anything, to have stood firm in defense of her public image. Said detail should never have allowed their prime minister to be photographed when engaged in erotically charged dancing. And in her ministerial residence, no less. When we are dealing with a head of government, a public image of resolute competence should prevail, as a role model for all other citizens. 

Naturally, women across the Western world have been appalled by the whole incident. They are not appalled at the implication that women leaders, especially young women leaders, are not ready for prime time, but they are appalled at what they mindlessly call the double standard. By their mini minds women have a right to party and the world would never be scandalized by images of a man partying. Dare we ask which male leader around the world today has been photographed engaged in erotically charged poses during a drunken bacchanalian revelry?

The answer is: none.

Besides, most political leaders are simply too old for such antics. Imagine Margaret Thatcher partying at 10 Downing Street? I am sure that you do not want to imagine Maggie partying. Right?

Of course, age matters. And the eroticism or lack thereof regarding the human body, especially the human female body, is not a social construction. It is a biological reality. This means that women possessing such attributes would do better to maintain a strict discipline and reserve their private antics for their private lives.

If they represent their nation’s government and project it around the world, they should take special care to maintain proper decorum and dignity. And they should instruct their security to act accordingly. Otherwise they will be embarrassing themselves and embarrassing their fellow countrymen and women. You do not want to become an international joke because your political leaders are senile or stupid or cannot keep their private matters private.

Rest assured, that no matter what the feminist leaders are telling you, that the embarrassment the nation has suffered is no joke. It is no laughing matter. Finnish diplomats, Finnish executives, even Finnish tourists will now be looked at with a somewhat less than respectful eye. Trust me, this will not make them happy or confident. Losing respect is no laughing matter and not something you can cover over by claiming that since everyone does it in private-- speak for yourself, bunky-- then we should all feel comfortable doing it in public. As a moral principle, that one is especially pathetic.

In the meantime, back in the world of female world leaders, we cannot resist saying a couple of words about that great feminist leadership role model, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. We recall that when Ardern shut down her country feminists were cheering this example of strong, decisive female leadership. The fact that Ardern had, right before taking office, given birth to a child, did not mitigate their fervor for girl power.

Anyway, if you were to ask how Ardern is doing these days, one cannot offer a more relevant piece of data than the fact that, according to polls in New Zealand, the fair Jacinda now has an approval rating that is-- hold you breath-- 30%. That’s even worse than Joe Biden. It’s even worse than Donald Trump. One does not know why the population of New Zealand-- which is, no kidding, majority sheep, in the ovine sense-- has turned on the ever-so-competent Jacinda Ardern, but such is political life.