Erna Solberg
Photographer: Markus Schreiber / AP
Photographer: Markus Schreiber / AP
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg was fined 20,000 crowns ($ 2,350) for breaking her own government’s Covid restrictions in connection with a party celebrating its 60th anniversary.
Normally, the circumstances would not result in a fine, but police suggested the country’s prime minister should have a higher standard.
“While the law is the same for everyone, not everyone is the same,” Ole Saeverud of the Southeast District Police told reporters in Oslo on Friday.
Solberg has already done so admitHe violated national guidelines when he attended a family reunion at a ski resort in February. The anniversary celebration included more people than were allowed under the limits dictated by Norway’s Covid restrictions.
Solberg is not the first senior official to fail in regulating the pandemic. Other prominent public figures include EU trade chief Phil Hogan, who resigned in August after attending a dinner attended by more than 80 people.
While Solberg’s misstep hasn’t triggered his resignation, it could possibly damage his popularity. In neighboring Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven saw his approval ratings drop after he was caught on a shopping expedition without a face mask.
According to an opinion poll published last month by Dagsavisen, Solberg’s Conservative party is keeping its neck with the opposition Labor party ahead of the September elections. With junior members of his minority coalition polling around 4% of the threshold needed to stay in parliament, Solberg could be facing an upward battle to extend his eight-year term as prime minister.
“Solberg is the nation’s top elected representative and has on several occasions led government decisions on measures to combat the pandemic,” Saeverud said. “Therefore, it is considered appropriate to respond with a penalty to maintain public confidence in infection control rules.”
Norway has maintained some of the lowest Covid-19 infection and mortality rates in Europe, in part due to strict measures introduced when more contagious variants began to spread. Solberg announced a plan to exit the blockade measures earlier this year, which envisaged the first steps of relaxation during the second half of May.
– With the assistance of Lars Erik Taraldsen
(Add a police comment to the second paragraph)