A bitter personal dispute is riding on the Industrial and Business Party, and in the worst case scenario could lead to the party splitting. The party made a snap election in several counties last autumn, and has been above the threshold in several polls recently. INP has made its mark in the electricity price debate, and will withdraw Norway from the EEA agreement. But now the party is cracking at the seams. The INP is not only arguing about what has happened, but also how the party should handle the situation. Here are four reasons why tonight’s central board meeting in the party will be heated: Notifications on both deputy chairmen The central board has received a notice on the party’s general secretary and both deputy chairmen in the party, as well as the local team leader in Moss, Rainer Prang. The notification has been sent by board member of Hustadvika INP, Runar Kjørsvik. According to Kjørsvik, the notice was also processed by the board in the local team before it was sent. “The notification is sent due to several months. with negative media reviews, and negative public publicity on social media where individual members openly present a number of undocumented claims, degrade, express a total lack of confidence in the party leader, question deputy leaders, and in that way undermine the party’s integrity, and cause damage to the party” it says in the notice of which news has a copy. The party’s deputy leaders Joar Nesse and Finn Arne Follestad are also given little credit. “By negligence, Nesse himself contributes to allowing the escalating harmful internal unrest in the party to grow, confuse members, create unrest, contributes to ostracism and isolation, undermines the party’s integrity, credibility and reputation.” “Follestad is fully aware of this, but does nothing that is noteworthy, and which opens up a number of new questions where the answers themselves may also prove to be further violations of guidelines,” writes Kjørsvik in the notice, which also asks that the notification is processed “immediately” and that “an action plan and a deadline” are set. FATE MEETING: Party leader Owe Waltherzøe does not want to comment on the dispute in the party before tonight’s central board meeting. Photo: Petter Strøm / news Tonight’s central board meeting takes place after the party leader left a national board meeting last Friday, which he claimed was illegally called. The national board meeting adopted a statement that was highly critical of the party leader, signed by a dozen county leaders and central board members. Allegations of match-fixing But why is the notice coming now, and who is the sender? INP’s first deputy leader Joar Nesse points out that the whistleblower Runar Kjørsvik and party leader Owe Waltherzøe know each other from the oil workers’ association SAFE, where Waltherzøe was for a time organizational secretary. When Kjørsvik ended up in an employment court case with his former employer, Waltherzøe testified in court on behalf of SAFE. Kjørsvik also confirms this. OIL: Owe Waltherzøe has a background as a shop steward in Equinor and the oil workers union SAFE. Photo: RONALD HOLE FOSSÅSKARET / news According to Nesse, there is information in the comprehensive notice that very few people know about: The party’s 2nd deputy leader Follestad is accused of the fact that the party’s membership register has been deficient, and that the party has been deprived of party support by the Party Law Board due to a dispute with Accounting and Auditing. INP’s first deputy leader Joar Nesse on election vigil at Gruo Pub on election night 2023. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news – As far as I know, only me and Waltherzøe know Kjørsvik and can have that information, says Nesse. – So you suspect that Kjørsvik is in cahoots with Waltherzøe? – I interpret it a bit like that, but I can’t say anything for sure. But by definition I also know very well who Kjørsvik is, through SAFE. There is a slight connection there. Kjørsvik completely denies that there has been any collusion with the party leader. – No. And I haven’t spoken to him afterwards either. There is no collaboration there. The warning stands on its own. I would have done the same if the party leader was someone else. The treatment he has received is not good, says Kjørsvik. Kjørsvik also denies that the notice contains internal information. – I have unraveled the information in the notice myself by Googling and talking to acquaintances in the party. Waltherzøe has not been involved. The party’s 2nd deputy leader, Finn Arne Follestad, does not want to comment on the notification case. But in an e-mail news has a copy of, he writes that he asks the party’s control committee to ignore the notifications because they have been sent to the wrong party organ: – The Central Board has nothing to do with notification cases, writes Follestad in the e-mail. CONTROVERSIAL: Waltherzøe has received criticism for a rough leadership style in INP. Photo: Ronald Hole Fossåskaret / news Party leader Owe Waltherzøe does not want to be interviewed. Nor does he answer news’s question about his relationship with the whistleblower. – Sorry, I don’t want to comment on that, he writes in a text message. The party’s general secretary, Ole Martin Martinsen, and leader of Moss INP, Rainer Prang, also have their passports signed in the notice. Reference is made to statements both in the media and on Facebook that are said to be disloyal and in breach of the party’s statutes and driving rules. – They just have to keep going. It doesn’t matter to me, says Prang to news. Secretary-General Ole Martin Martinsen sent out a press release yesterday in which he took a strong stand with INP leader Waltherzøe: “Proposals for ethical rules that have been discussed in the party, he is the first to break,” Martinsen wrote, among other things. Critical of the party leader’s father-in-law Nesse is also critical of Owe Waltherzøe’s father-in-law, Henning Karlsen, attending tonight’s central board meeting. Karlsen is the leader of the party team INP Senior. – I seriously question the competence. There are close relatives. It’s not a nice situation for any of us, says Nesse. – The notifications do not apply to me. But competence is decided in the central board and not in news, Waltherzøe replies in a text message. Joar Nesse thinks the situation the party has found itself in is sad, and thinks back on four and a half years of work to build a new political party. – Are you afraid that you will be kicked out tonight? – I cannot see that a central government can throw me out. They do not have decision-making authority to evict people. We stand until the next national meeting, and it is only the national meeting that can throw us, as Waltherzøe has also been elected for 2026, says Nesse. Believes the summons is invalid The summons to tonight’s central board meeting also causes controversy, because according to some, it is in conflict with the party’s statutes. In the notice, Waltherzøe has emphasized that attendance is compulsory, and that the central board will be competent to make decisions regardless of how many attend. In the party’s articles of association, however, there is nothing about the obligation to attend. Party leader Owe Waltherzøe at work in the North Sea. Photo: John Roger Måbø There is also a requirement in the articles of association for at least seven participants in the central board for the meeting to be capable of decision. – When you say it that way, you could sit alone and decide everything. It will be completely wrong, says Deputy Chairman Joar Nesse. – I want to point out at the meeting tonight, that such a notice and text violates the bylaws. We cannot accept that a body in the party is competent to make decisions even if only one or two members sit there. It is not democracy, he says. – Haven’t received any notifications on me. Then neither I nor Henning Karlsen could participate, replies Waltherzøe.
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Must process notices on both deputy chairmen – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
