Dancing in the limelight: when world leaders take to the dancefloor

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:

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:

Her successor, Olaf Scholz, is shown here before his election, resolutely refusing to bop at all:

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, appears equally reluctant to trip the light fantastic:

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:

Barack Obama also knew how to cut a rug:

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:

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: