‘Environment Boy’s’ Mercedes Upsets Fans

Norway’s top pop star, lead singer with the group A-ha and an avid environmentalist, has upset his fans and fellow Norwegians by buying a gas-guzzling, top-of-the-range Mercedes.

Morten Harket, a teen idol whose group has made millions of dollars, has publicly recommended that people drive electric cars and has endorsed Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland’s international campaigning on environmental issues.

“Look, This Is the Environment Boy’s Petrol-Guzzler,” said the front-page headline in the daily Dagbladet, as a smiling Harket was featured in several newspapers today posing next to his new Mercedes 500 SL.

“I need a car and I’m lucky enough to be able to afford this one,” Harket said. “At the moment, neither I nor anyone else has an alternative to petrol-driven cars. . . . I don’t have any greater responsibility than anyone else.”