When Conservative deputy leader Henrik Asheim appeared on Politisk kvarter on Tuesday morning, he did not make the slightest attempt to wrap up the fact that Erna Solberg had been cheated on by her husband. On the contrary, he was clear that Sindre Finnes is the snake in paradise. The fact that Finnes has obviously lied in public in the past makes it easier to believe Erna Solberg’s version. The timeline presented by the Conservative Party on Tuesday evening is hardly suitable to convince the critics. It is difficult to understand that the Conservative Party has spent so long creating this, and it lacks documentation. This is Erna Solberg’s story. But anyone who believes in Erna Solberg will probably get confirmation that Erna Solberg is a hard-working party leader whose only weakness is that she has trusted her husband too much. Høyre’s timeline is in practice a character assassination of Sindre Finnes. For several reasons, the party must prove that Erna is telling the truth. One is about confidence in the election, and the good election result many of the Conservative Party’s local elected officials did. They cannot live with repeated accusations that the election “has been stolen”. Norway has suddenly become an echo of Trump’s USA. The second is about the hope that Erna Solberg will still be the Conservative Party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2025. Nevertheless, it is only a mouse’s step away. The Conservatives are unlikely to succeed in convincing everyone that they did not withhold information until after the election. Suspicion has taken hold, not least among a left party that is licking its wounds after the election defeat. And one can certainly object that the Conservative Party could have worked faster. Moreover, many will point to Ernas Solberg’s responsibility, even though she is never so much deceived by her husband. They point out that there are many cases back in time when the alarm bells should have been rung in the prime minister’s residence. It is not the first time Sindre Finnes’ share trading has been in the media’s spotlight. There are also no shortage of other obstacles in the way of the prime minister’s comeback that many in the party had almost taken for granted. Much will still be about the various share deals Finnes has made. Even if one cannot document or claim that it is about insider trading or information he has acquired through his wife, there is probably a lot that will look suspicious. With several thousand stock trades that can be checked against the government’s activity, there is a lot to take away. A crucial question is what Økokrim does. For an active politician, it will be very stressful to be under investigation by Økokrim. When they decided not to investigate the share trading in the Huitfeldt case, the reasoning was that there is no basis for Anniken Huitfeldt to have spread inside information to her husband Ola Flem. “On the contrary, the circumstances and the information available point to the fact that Huitfeldt did not have knowledge of which securities, times, number of shares or companies the husband has traded in”, was the assessment from Økokrim. The question is whether Økokrim considers it differently with the married couple Solberg/Finnes. This is about a much larger volume of shares over a long period of time. Solberg was also prime minister and close to all decisions in government. Another milestone will of course be the treatment in the control and constitution committee. But unlike sitting ministers, Erna Solberg is not dependent on the Storting’s trust in the same way. She needs the trust of the Høyre party. And she has it. Solberg stands very strongly with her own people, and there is little doubt that they believe her version. In contrast, the party is far more in doubt as to whether this can carry for Solberg as a candidate for prime minister. Then she not only needs the party’s trust, she must also have the trust of the voters. But that decision rests, for now, with Erna Solberg herself. She herself must assess whether she is a strength or a burden for the Conservative Party. After a long election campaign in which the Conservative Party’s entire brand and strategy has been built around “Erna is the star”, it is no wonder that many in the Conservative Party fear life without Erna Solberg. It takes a lot to build up a similar profile to the one she has. At the moment, it is impossible to know how the case will develop. When you are standing in the middle of the storm, it is difficult to see clearly. Then it is not unlikely that the Conservative Party will choose the strategy for which they are so often criticized, namely to sit still in the boat. Maybe the world will look different in a few weeks. But there is an x-factor. For the otherwise sane Solberg, this case is very personal. Because even if the Conservative Party succeeds in attaching the villain label to Sindre Finnes, a character assassination of Erna Solberg’s husband is bold. Although that is never so true. What happens within the four walls of the home is strictly nobody’s business. Nevertheless, it affects the Conservative Party strongly. Should Erna Solberg once again try to become prime minister, it concerns the whole nation in a way. And with that backdrop, even the most sane can make decisions that may surprise everyone.
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Right’s straw – Speech
