Norway's aristrocrat PM voices grief of a nation

OSLO: Jens Stoltenberg, whose government and party was targeted by last week's deadly attacks, has been unanimously hailed for his dignified and quintessentially Norwegian handling of the crisis aftermath.

According to a poll published on Wednesday, 94 percent of Norwegians have been satisfied with the prime minister's performance in the aftermath of last week's massacre while only two percent have been dissatisfied.

"Stoltenberg has been a fantastic leader under exceptional circumstances, humane and yet firm at the same time. He has never been so impressive, Harald Stanghelle, a columnist for the leading Aftenposten daily, told AFP.

When a massive car bomb exploded outside his office on Friday afternoon, the 52-year-old was rushed into hiding by his security detail for fear that his life was in danger.

But since the arrest of the self-confessed perpetrator of the attacks several hours later, Stoltenberg has rarely left the public glare -- whether visiting survivors and victims' families, leading a grieving nation in observing a minute's silence or addressing an international press pack.

In his first press conference after the attacks, Stoltenberg was adamant that the killing of 76 of his compatriots -- many of whom were known personally by the prime minister -- the county would cling to its core values.

"Norway is a tight-knit, small country and when this kind of catastrophe hits us this strengthens our country and that is something that will help us through this difficult time," he told reporters.

"The message to whoever attacked us, the message from all of Norway is that you will not destroy us, you will not destroy our democracy and our ideals for a better world."

It's a message that Stoltenberg has reiterated frequently in the following days while acknowledging at the same time that there would inevitably be some lasting scars, what he called "a Norway before and a Norway after".

The Labour Party leader, who had long been regarded as something of a political aristocrat since becoming the country's youngest premier in 2000, has struck a chord with much of the population.

Stoltenberg "has displayed great dignity, great restraint without playing to the gallery," said Marleen Laschet, a 49-year-old communications manager.

"Even if, as he put it, there will be a before and after, he has shown that we won't play the game of a criminal, that we will not change because of him."

Most of the killings took place during a summer camp on Utoeya Island a picturesque island close to Oslo, which Stoltenberg himself had attended on a number of occasions as a youngster.

"It happened at a place where I spent a long time as a young person... It was a paradise of my youth that has now been turned into hell," he said after meeting some of the survivors on Saturday.

"He has shown a new side to his personality, much more open, much more sensitive, when before he was seen as someone who was really rather serious," said Stine Paulsen, a 21-year-old student.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011