Yle political journalist
Hannu Tikkala told APN that public debate on the matter was positive, showing that Finnish society was transparent.
"Citizens and journalists really pay attention to how politicians and officials use taxpayer money and hold them accountable for their actions. Another good thing is that the information is available to journalists who can do stories like this about these matters," he said.
But the scandal is likely to dent Marin's Social Democrats in the polls, according to Tikkala.
"It's clear this scandal will damage the prime minister's image, especially when there have not been these kinds of scandals before related to taxpayer money," he explained.