You really know how to ask pointed questions, eh?
Glad I'm not on the defense for the NRF in this matter!
Well, I would have hoped they would have showed better judgement.
The difference is that Marius is a member of the NRF family, not a core member but still a prominent member and that this is a pattern of assault and vandalism. That could very easily have ended up a lot worse.
I really can't truly understand how it must have been for these three women to be on the receiving end of Marius running amok. At least I know I would have had a fighting chance against him, given my size, being a man and my background. These women had no chance against him and they would have known it. It must have been an absolutely terrifying ordeal.
Mette Marit and Haakon let at least two of these women down. They didn't lift a finger for them. Otherwise surely Snekkestad and Haukland would have said so.
Mette Marit can't be a patron for women's rights and abused women, if she at the same time basically let her son get away with being abusive against women. As I pointed out in a previous post, it's a very human thing to prioritize your own flesh and blood, even when they are wrong. It doesn't excuse Mette Marit from also having a responsibility towards the victims of Marius, because that's what they are. And to do her utmost to prevent it from happening again. A stern talk some half-hearted therapy and trusting your son will behave in the future is simply not good enough. Especially not in her position.
Haakon too let Mette Marit down, he also let Marius down, and the victims, his father the King and the NRF as an institution Again it's only human, because most people prefer to avoid a conflict if possible.
Haakon let Matte Marit down as a husband, because you also have an obligation to prevent your spouse from doing something stupid. He didn't.
He let the victims down by not doing anything despite his position and influence.
He let Marius down by not stepping in and putting his foot down for real. Even at the cost of risking a major conflict within the family.
And he let the NRF and his father down by being passive and not dealing with this problem with Marius, or at least asking for help to deal with it. So now it's hurting the NRF and his father's legacy.
Okay, we can all do stupid things in our youth and still turn out good, some actually turn out good
because of it. That's Mette Marit for you. Except that she has made a series of poor judgements also while being a CP. That in comparison to Sofia in Sweden, who was considered to be less than ideal for marrying into the SRF. But she hasn't put a foot wrong even once after getting married, so it
is possible.
The problem with Mette Marit and her past is that Haakon basically pressured his father into giving his consent. And King Harald himself had embarked on a year long campaign for being allowed to marry Queen Sonia, so I guess he felt it was hypocritical of him to refuse Mette Marit and I supposed he trusted his son's judgement.
And that leads us to ML and her shaman who should never be allowed anywhere near the NRF. And that one is something King Harald bear the full responsibility for. That will go down in the history books as his worst mistake of his reign. He is old and frail and perhaps he hasn't got the strength, let alone heart to really go rough on ML, and he may hope that it will turn out well in the end. It's a vain hope of course.
But back to your question. It's basically a long string of poor decisions and misjudgements as well as, we must assume, a refusal to listen to advise.
I believe the NRF will survive this double-crisis, but it will take a lot of very hard work from those dwindling members of the NRF who are not acting as clowns to recover from this, and I'm not sure they can to nearly the same level as today.
And I'm far from certain Haakon and Mette Marit will survive this...
- If more former female associates of Marius turn up with similar or worse stories it gets serious!
If it turns out that the NRF, with Haakon and Mette Marit in the lead repeatedly have ignored warnings and advise it gets really bad!
And if it turns out that they have used their influence try to and cover this up, it gets critical!
It is likely that at some point there will be a public debate as to whether it would be more prudent to simply bypass Haakon.
That's why it's imperative that they deal firmly with Marius once and for all and that they get ML and her Durek under control or kick them out.
Because this is a godsend for republicans in Norway.
Two weeks ago the monarchy in Norway was secure in our lifetime. It isn't anymore.
It sure won't relieve the already considerable pressure on Ingrid.
Her youth was already ending due to the illness of her mother, now she will have to be the one who is mainly responsible for recovering the reputation of the NRF.
ADDED.
It is possible for the NRF to deal with types like Durek and Marius friends.
When Marie was to marry Joachim in DK, her ex in New York offered an explicit video to the Danish media. One of them, IIRC it was Ekstra Bladet, reported him. Shortly after the video was no longer for sale. He explained later to Ekstra Bladet that he got a visit from FBI or someone else from Homeland Security who convinced him that would be a monumentally bad idea to sell that video and would he hand it over, please! So in that case the DRF asked for help by the Danish government who went nasty on the ex. So it
is possible.
I wrote a bit about this back when J&M got married either here or on another board.
