Should political leaders be allowed to party?

SALT LAKE CITY — Should political leaders be allowed to party? If so, where is the line between dignity and respect for the office and giving a real person a work/life balance?

Videos and photos of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin partying and attending rock festivals over the summer may have won her fans abroad, but at home the leaks are causing her trouble. The 36-year-old prime minister was scolded by her peers last week. She has pledged to now focus more on work, according to Bloomberg.

Is this work/life balance beneath the dignity of public office?

Party political leader

Inside Sources host Boyd Matheson joins KSL NewsRadio’s Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to talk about where we should draw the line on leaders who party.

“I’m a little torn on it because I’m not used to looking at politicians and leaders as somebody who has fun,” Dave said.

“Is this work life balance or risking dignity of public office, Boyd?” Debbie asked.

Boyd said the two sides of the equation are 1) every device is a camera and every mic is an open mic, and 2) leaders are also people with lives.

“What happens if we no longer allow our elected officials to have a private life,” he said. “That is unhealthy for any leader, whether that’s a business leader, whether that’s a community leader, a government leader.”

Dave also pointed out that if President Joe Biden did the same as the Finnish P.M. it would be scandalous. 

“As we watch the prime minister, and she’s dancing very close to somebody that’s not her husband with some hips swiveling, you’re thinking, ‘This would be a big deal here in the United States,'” he said. “If we saw President Biden dancing with another woman — like party dancing — that would be a big scandal.”

“That’s one of those things you could never unsee as well,” Debbie said.

Respect the office but have a life

Boyd said as a representative of the office there is a dignity to be preserved while on the job.

“George W. Bush would not go into the Oval Office without a jacket on because it was the dignity of the office and that respect that he had for that,” he said. “But if he was watching a Texas football game or a Texas Rangers baseball game, then it was a different kind of thing.”

Dave pointed out that when social media enters the event of a political leader partying it changes from fun to not so much.

“A world leader is having fun singing at a party, like we all do, but when someone records it and post it online, it changes and now all of a sudden she has to apologize for her behavior as if there’s something wrong with that,” he said.

Is the Finnish prime minister seen differently now by her constituents when she is speaking before the United Nations or negotiating to permit Finland to join NATO? Boyd asked. 

“You look at her résumé and what she’s done, it’s impressive, but all of a sudden people look at her as the dancing prime minister,” Dave said.

Related:

• Australia’s leader goes to indie rock gig, chugs a beer, gets cheers
• Sanna Marin: How much partying is too much for a leader?
• Political leaders: Democrats and Republicans not as divided as many people believe

 

Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.