– This is almost the same as in the Borten Moe case, a well-known competency case. And a possible question about insider trading. The special thing here is that it is a close relative who has acted and not the person concerned himself. That’s what Morten Kinander, professor of jurisprudence at BI School of Business, says. Morten Kinander, professor of jurisprudence at BI School of Business. Photo: Siv Sandvik / news – And the question then is whether there is any breach of confidentiality. It is not inconceivable that the problem is such that it could also lead to an investigation by Økokrim in this case too, he adds. Wants the control committee on the field On Wednesday, the news came that Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt has broken the integrity rules, through her husband’s purchase of shares. It was VG who mentioned the case first. Her husband, Ola Flem, has traded shares on Oslo Børs – among other things in the arms manufacturer Kongsberg Gruppen – while she has been foreign minister. Huitfeldt himself has admitted to having made mistakes. At a press conference this afternoon, she said she wants to clean things up. Several have nevertheless reacted. – Now there are cases on a continuous basis that show that there is a class of politicians with privileged top politicians and families both on the right and in this government, who act in ways that undermine democracy, writes Seher Aydar, representative in the Storting’s control committee, in an e-mail to news. Aydar believes that it is obvious that the control committee must go into the matter and get to the bottom of the issues of impartiality, share trading and appointments. – We must restore trust in democracy, and then the Storting, the people’s elected representatives, must take the lead. I think the whole of Norway expects that from us. Her husband has traded shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange – among other things in the arms manufacturer Kongsberg Gruppen – while she has been foreign minister. – Serious – This shows that Støre does not have control over his ministers, and it paints a clear picture of a lack of culture in this government, says deputy leader of the FRP Hans Andreas Limi. – Now the notified control case must be expanded to also include Huitfeldt’s case. So many cases of gross violations of the rules by this government weaken confidence in the entire political system, and it is important that Støre is now cleaned up, he adds. FRP deputy chairman Hans Andreas Limi. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / NTB In the past, Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) and Ola Borten Moe (Sp) have had to resign due to integrity issues. Tonje Brenna (Ap) has also admitted mistakes, but still sits as Minister of Knowledge. Støre himself has stated that he has confidence in Huitfeldt. Støre meets the press at 17:00. – Necessary and correct decision Head of the Storting’s Control and Constitution Committee, Peter Frølich, was informed of the breaches of competence earlier today. Head of the Storting’s Control and Constitution Committee, Peter Frølich. Photo: William Jobling / news – These new breaches of integrity are serious, and come in a series of previous serious breaches of integrity. The control committee already has a lot on the table with the cases related to Borten Moe, Brenna and Trettebergstuen. From the Conservative Party’s side, it is nevertheless quite clear that the Storting’s control case must now be expanded, he says. Furthermore, he says that this disclosure has come about because the control committee started a full review of the government’s handling of the integrity rules. – It shows that it was a necessary and correct decision. In addition, Frølich states that the Conservative Party will take the initiative to have Huitfeldt attend the upcoming hearing in the control committee. – The Prime Minister must clean up – Now the Prime Minister must clean up properly and ensure that this cannot happen again. The rules are there for a reason, and we cannot have minister after minister making admissions that they have broken them, says KrF leader Olaug Bollestad to NTB, adding that this weakens trust in the system and the government. Based on what Huitfeldt himself says, this is a clear violation of the regulations for the government, believes the case manager for this case in the control and constitutional committee, Grunde Almeland (V): – It is quite clear that for every single case that comes up, it will more serious. Almeland believes that this case goes directly into the ongoing case in the control committee, where it will be looked at precisely how the government has practiced the competence regulations and how the government apparatus works with competence. – There are several reasons why the committee looks at these matters. One of them is that we need to do considerable work to restore trust in the politicians, who are severely damaged. Constantly new cases do not create new trust, he says. Huitfeldt was clear that she does not think it is right to resign as foreign minister, but instead clean up the mistake, during the press conference earlier today. The Green Party (MDG) disagrees with that. Thinks Huitfeldt should resign – What emerges are clear violations of the rules of competence, and Huitfeldt should resign. Regardless of whether it is intentional or not, we cannot accept such abuse of power and position, says deputy leader of the party Ingrid Liland in an e-mail to TV 2. SV’s deputy leader Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes tells news that it is serious that it what may be another breach of the competence regulations is uncovered. He clarifies that it is important that we get a critical review of routines for assessing competence and handling this under both this and the previous government. – It is natural that the control committee, in reviewing the various cases of disqualification, should also look at this case, and at questions related to responsibility for spouses’ possible investments that may contribute to disqualification, he says. Dividend of NOK 950,000 The investment company Flemo AS is 100 per cent owned by Huitfeldt’s husband. Here he has invested his share of the profits from the IT consulting company Oda Consulting AS, for which he works and of which Flemo AS owns 50 per cent. In the last two years, Flemo AS has reported a profit of a total of NOK 2 million. The company has paid out a total dividend of NOK 950,000 in 2021 and 2022. Flem’s personally owned limited company had values of NOK 3.6 million at the end of 2022, according to the accounts that VG obtained from the Brønnøysund registers. Huitfeldt claims she did not know about the man’s share purchase, and therefore believes her own disqualification has not affected matters in the government. Nevertheless, she admits that she has been aware that the man has had some individual shares, without knowing which ones. – I am sorry that I have put myself in this situation, and want to clean things up, said Huitfeldt at the press conference. The communications department in Økokrim informs news that they have not yet taken a position on or assessed whether they should possibly open an investigation into Huitfeldt’s competency case.
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– This is almost the same as in the Borten Moe case – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
