– I am not an expert on competence and disqualification. But I can do more now than ever before in my life, says former Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe (Sp). On Tuesday, there is a hearing in the Storting regarding the competency cases. Right now it is Borten Moe who is being questioned. Borten Moe had to resign this summer after it became known that he had bought arms stocks and breached the ethics rules. – Until the case came up this summer, I was not aware that the government had dealt with individual cases that directly concerned the companies I had invested in, he says. This is how the open hearing is being held today Part 1 – About the breaches of integrity by individual members of various governments 08.35 – 09.45: Former Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H). 10.15 – 11.25: Former Minister of Culture and Equality Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap). 12.00 – 13.10: Former Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe (Sp) 13.20 – 14.30: Former Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap). 16.00 – 17.10: Minister for Employment and Inclusion and former Minister for Knowledge Tonje Brenna (Ap). Part 2 – About the government’s handling of the competence regulations 17.25 – 18.35: Former Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H). 18.50 – 20.00: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap). * The hearing will be streamed on the Storting’s online TV. (NTB) During the hearing, Borten Moe says that he believes it was the right decision to resign as a minister. – I think it would have been extremely demanding, if not impossible, to sit with ministers with the confidence one had to have, in the weeks and months that followed. That’s how the dynamic developed, he says. – Do you regret today that you left? asks Carl I. Hagen (Frp). – No, I don’t really do that, replies Borten Moe. The training should be improved Like former Minister of Culture and Gender Equality Anette Trettebergstuen, who was asked earlier today, Borten Moe also believes that the training should be improved. – I have to accept criticism that I myself have not familiarized myself well enough with the regulations and probably did not understand them well enough either. But I would also like to think that the training should and can be improved. The regulations should become clearer and awareness in the system also has the potential to improve, he says. Moe claims he was always aware of his own integrity in his daily work in the ministry. Former Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe (Sp) received several questions during the hearing in connection with the competency cases. Photo: NTB – So I haven’t paid enough attention to the matters that are dealt with in the government as a collegium. This is my responsibility, and it is a responsibility I have taken and which has had a clear consequence, he says, pointing out that he has resigned both as minister and as deputy leader of the Center Party. At the same time, he believes that the number of competency cases recently shows that there has not been enough attention or a uniform practice either in the ministries or the government apparatus regarding this. – However, I feel completely confident that we will get it, as a consequence of this, he says. Later, the share regulations have been tightened. – If we had the current regulations a year ago, I wouldn’t be here today, says Borten Moe. When asked by Seher Aydar (Red) if he believes that the rules should be such that no one in government can hold shares, Borten Moe replies: – Personally, I think it is an orderly way to do it.
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The hearing at the Storting continues – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
