Norway’s prime minister presents new government on day of tragedy

The new government takes office just a day after a deadly bow-and-arrow attack in a small Norwegian town

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has a 19 member team (EPA)

Norway’s new Prime Minister and his centre-left Cabinet took office on Thursday as the country reeled from a terror tragedy the night before.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, the leader of Norway’s Labor Party, stood outside the royal palace with his 19-member team — 10 women and nine men - after being sworn in.

But the event was overshadowed by the deadly bow-and-arrow attack in Kongsberg, a small town close to Oslo, on Wednesday which left five people dead. Police have described the incident as a likely terror attack.

Gahr Stoere said it was “a special day” because of the “outrageous event”. 

“It is horrible what has been revealed, it is shocking to think about what people have experienced,” Gahr Stoere told reporters before the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, pledging the new Cabinet’s full attention on the Kongsberg case. 

Authorities suspect that the attacker, named by police as Espen Andersen Bråthen, is a Muslim convert who was previously flagged as having been radicalised.

Norway’s domestic security agency says the attack appears to have been an act of terrorism. 

“But although the backdrop is heavy, this is still the day to present a new government,” the 61-year-old Gahr Stoere said before a cheering crowd after the ceremony was over. 

He took over after Erna Solberg was ousted in the 13 September election after two four-year terms. In line with tradition, the outgoing and incoming governments were greeted by family members and well-wishers, and received flowers and Norwegian flags, after formally meeting King Harald V. 

AP