Former Prime Minister Erna Solberg presented on Friday morning the overview of all the share transactions her husband Sindre Finnes has made during the eight years when she was Prime Minister. The list counts 3,600 trades, an average of almost two trades every single day Oslo Børs is open. The transactions have taken place despite the fact that he received advice from the Prime Minister’s office not to engage in short-term share trading. The background for the advice was that it would be difficult for Solberg to be constantly informed about whether she was competent or not in decisions made in government, if Finne’s share portfolio was constantly changing. On Friday, it emerged that Solberg has been incompetent in several cases she has dealt with as prime minister, due to her husband’s share dealings. Extensive cover operation Finnes has run what appears to be a cover operation, to hide the business from his spouse so that she would not discover what he was up to. The cover operation consisted of Finnes selling out of companies before the end of the year, in order to hide the extent of the share trading from both Solberg and the public. As no one else has had access to his VPS account, i.e. neither Solberg nor SMK, it has also not been possible to check his ongoing share trading throughout the year. At the end of the year, the information ends up in a public shareholder register, which everyone has access to – and it is therefore this register that Finnes has adapted its share portfolio for. How much responsibility does she have? An important question now is how far her responsibility extends. At the press conference, Solberg said bluntly that her husband had not been honest with her: – It is a serious breach of trust. A breach of trust that is difficult in my family and in a marriage, she said. Is it still enough to absolve her of responsibility? On the one hand, you can say that she had received a clear warning from SMK when she was prime minister. In addition, in recent weeks she has seen other cases, such as the Anniken Huitfeldt case, without her doing further investigations. It wasn’t until Friday last week that she started proper investigations, following a case in E24. Then she got a bad feeling. Only a week after that again, many days after the local elections on Monday, she presented the entire list. Trust as a cornerstone On the other hand, it is easy to understand that she has had trust that the person she lives with is not deliberately lying and leading her astray. Trust should be one of the cornerstones of a marriage. But how far does her duty extend to challenge that trust? Many will probably think that there must be limits to which naiveties one must apologize for, especially at such a high level and with such a great responsibility as prime minister. It is easy to feel sorry for her, but that must not overshadow the responsibility she has to acquire relevant knowledge. As a top manager, she must know that she should never get into a situation where her competence is called into question. Takes another step In response to the share deals, Solberg has said that if she gets another round as prime minister in two years, her husband’s VPS account will be open to be checked. This will ensure that she knows at all times which matters she is or is incompetent in. However, it is a move she could have already made when she became prime minister in 2013, and at least after news revealed back in 2014 that Finne owned shares in Norsk Hydro. Corruption expert Tine Søreide told news at the time that we in Norway should feel confident that elected officials’ personal finances cannot influence politicians’ decisions, and that it is therefore relevant information for the public as to which investments Finnes has made as long as this information is not controlled today. Almost ten years later, Solberg therefore takes these realities into his own hands. There is no doubt that Erna Solberg has been seriously let down by her spouse. The breach of trust reveals a difficult dilemma for both former, current and future ministers: As a minister, must one always assume that spouses are somehow guilty, until the opposite is proven?
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Solberg could have prevented this ten years ago – Statement
