Congratulations! (Aftenposten, Sunday edition)

Once upon a time...is now. We are living the fairy tale. Are we aware of it? Miss Høiby goes into Oslo Cathedral and comes out as HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit. And she is no Cinderella; how could anyone compare her with a tender little innocent from a Danish fairy tale? There is no Cinderella in the Norwegian folk tale tradition. But in the words of Aftenposten’s commentator, we now have a Mette-Marit.

"Mette-Marit, I love you" (All Sunday papers, compiled in Dagbladet)

With tears in his eyes, HRH Crown Prince Håkon turned to his bride and gazed deeply into her eyes, as he said, "Your soul glows with light". This was an honest and genuine declaration of love from a Crown Prince to his Crown Princess – the woman he loves above everyone on earth. The entire Royal Family was in tears. There has seldom been such enthusiastic applause for any speech made at the Royal Palace. HRH The Crown Prince struggled to hold back his tears from the beginning of his speech, when he thanked Mette-Marit’s family for their warmth and kindness. Then he addressed his father, describing how much strength he and his bride had drawn from the support they received from the Royal Family.

The crowd cheered and the happy couple cheered with us (NTB)

The bride and groom exchanged vows before the Church. And almost two hours later, in front of the Royal Palace, they celebrated with the crowd. They kissed three times, and the new Crown Princess curtseyed to the public. The cheering went on and on when HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit and HRH Crown Prince Haakon appeared on the balcony to accept the tribute of the crowd of ten thousand gathered in front of the Royal Palace. They were a bit late, but all the more welcome when they opened the balcony doors nine minutes after schedule. By that time the public had tried three times to urge them to appear by applauding.

Secret document reveals Stoltenberg’s bluff (Verdens Gang, Saturday edition)

An ultra-secret document that proves that Jens Stoltenberg was bluffing in the sick pay issue has now been released to the public. Contrary to everything the Prime Minister and his Labour spokesmen have said and written during the election campaign, it is now clear that his government was working in secret until April of this year to cut down on sick pay benefits. Within the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions there has been enormous pressure to fight Labour’s furtive proposal to reduce sick pay. The most outspoken critic of Labour’s viewpoint has been current Confederation president Gerd-Liv Valla.

Stoltenberg rejects cuts in sick pay (Dagsavisen, Sunday edition)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg categorically denied that his government has considered cutting sickness benefits. But he does confirm that a draft document dealing with sick pay was presented for discussion among employer and employee organizations. "There has been complete openness on this subject since we called the social partners in to launch a dialogue on the follow-up of the Sandman Commission. The draft only contained ideas for a dialogue," said Mr. Stoltenberg.

Nurses from Baltic countries are jobless in Norway (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)

The 48 nurses from the Baltic countries who arrived in Norway on Tuesday thought they had contracts with Norwegian hospitals. The hospitals deny any such thing. It may take up to six months for the nurses to get approval from the Norwegian authorities to work here. Finn Radmann, a Norwegian, claims that he has organized jobs for a number of Baltic nurses in Norway. This week 48 more of them arrived, eager to get started in their new jobs. In their suitcases they had contracts with the Norwegian-owned company Baltic Health Care, based in the Baltic countries. These contracts guarantee them jobs, approval as nurses in Norway, and work permits.

Tønne demands a clean-up (Dagbladet)

Health Minister Tore Tønne has had enough of the scandalous write-ups in Estonian and Latvian newspapers. "We want to emphasize that the recruitment of health personnel is the responsibility of the hospitals," said State Secretary Lars Erik Flatø in the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. "Recruitment is to be carried out in an orderly and correct way, and is not to create negative publicity abroad. I expect Finn Radmann to clear up the misunderstandings he has caused," said Mr. Flatø.

Worth noting

• The popular Norwegian monarchy had one of its greatest days yesterday. The festive crowd in the streets of Oslo was the finest tribute the newlyweds could possibly have received. (Dagsavisen, Saturday edition)
• TV2 and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) broadcast the wedding of weddings in Norway. TV2 began its transmissions at 8.00 am. The television audience was able to watch wedding programming continuously for around 12 hours on TV2, while NRK broadcast the wedding from 14.00 until around midnight. (Dagbladet, Saturday edition)
• The Norwegian division of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War is getting involved in the election campaign, and is warning vigorously against a government in which the Conservative or Progress parties are present. These parties are dragging their feet on the disarmament issue. (Dagsavisen, Sunday edition)
• The Labour Party proposes keeping all local hospitals in operation, and does not want to centralize them. Party secretary Solveig Torsvik has made this clear in a letter to the mayor of Lærdal, Olav Wendelbo. (Nationen, Saturday edition)
• During the first six months of this year more illegal computer hacking has been reported than in all of 1999. Fines are not enough to scare hackers off. Now the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime is demanding that these criminals be given prison sentences. Most hackers are between the ages of 16 and 25. (Nationen)
• Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland believes that it is possible for people to be "cured" of homosexuality. Ms. Haugland says that she herself has met former homosexuals who changed their sexual orientation as a result of intercessory prayer. (Dagsavisen, Saturday edition)

Today's comment from Aftenposten, Sunday edition

A few tears are commonly shed at weddings, and some people cannot even watch a flag being raised without getting misty-eyed. But when personal feelings team up with national pride, sometimes our emotions simply take over, and we can suddenly lose our faculty for rational thinking without knowing why. It is impossible to define a nation, not to mention all the differences that will always distinguish a nation from a country or a people, in the three days it takes to celebrate a royal wedding. Not even in a republic can it be done in the course of a gala evening. One thing is certain, though: what we saw and felt on Friday and on Saturday is the closest we will ever come in Norway to a manifestation of the spirit of our nationality: a small principality in a big world, a young nation in an old country, a modern welfare state in an unbending tradition, where the personal is more important than the constitutional, and where specific actions and events have a greater impact than abstract considerations. A new image adds further depth to this kaleidoscope: feelings, not formalities, were the centre of focus at the marriage of Norway’s Crown Prince to his new Crown Princess. This fact will be repeated, dissected and expounded upon until it becomes a permanent fixture in a future interpretation – yet to be proven – of what really happened when the most visible Norwegian love story in living memory was consecrated at the altar in Oslo Cathedral on 25 August 2001.