Erna Soldberg celebrated her birthday with her family by gathering more than 10 people. The police have considered that the leader should know better the rules.
The Norwegian police on Friday fined the country’s prime minister , Erna Solberg , 20,000 crowns (about 2,000 euros) for violating the restrictions set by the authorities to stop the coronavirus when celebrating her birthday .
Solberg’s family got together two nights in a row at the end of February to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the president: first in a restaurant and the next day in an apartment in the winter resort of Geilo (in the southeast of the country), in both cases more than ten people , contravening current regulations.
Solberg could not attend the restaurant because she had to travel to Oslo to be treated by an eye doctor, although she was present at the second celebration. Even so, the police have considered that it was she who organized both events and that as the head of government she deserves a fine , not her husband, who only receives a warning.
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“Solberg is the most prominent elected person in the country and the police believe that it is correct to react with a fine,” regional police chief Ole B. Sæverud said at a press conference .
The agent has stressed that although the law is the same for everyone , “not everyone is the same” and that the fact that Solberg is the visible head of the Government’s measures against the covid justifies the punishment. The police opened an investigation on March 19 after the case was uncovered by Norwegian public television NRK.
Following the revelation of the episode, the head of government publicly apologized and said she was willing to pay a possible fine.
“I, who every day talk to Norwegians about the rules, should know them better , but the truth is that I have not done well enough and I did not know that when a family goes out together and there are more than ten, then it must be considered an event, “he apologized . Solberg, who has served as prime minister since 2013, also apologized in her day on her Facebook page.
