In turn, resigned ministers explained themselves to the control and constitution committee at the Storting today, about competence and share purchases. The ex-ministers made a number of critical comments about the handling of such cases in their own government: The regulations were unclear and the follow-up was inadequate. The training was too weak. Spouses’ share purchases have been a “blind spot in politics”. Different practices at the Prime Minister’s Office (SMK) and in the various ministries. It is Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) who has the overall responsibility for ensuring that the various ministers stay within the current rules. HABITETSROT: Tonje Brenna, Anniken Huitfeldt, Ola Borten Moe and Anette Trettebergstuen all explained themselves to the Storting today. Photo: Terje Pedersen/Joakim Halvorsen/Stian Lysberg Solum – Have learned lessons Støre was last in the marathon hearing in the control committee today. – Trust in politicians is absolutely crucial in a democracy. There has been a weakening of trust between people and us politicians, he said. – When I have become familiar with the matters in my government, I have been concerned that there should be full transparency about what has happened, and that all information must come forward, the Prime Minister stated. He has had to dismiss several ministers as a result of the problems with the understanding of the competence rules. – So we have learned lessons and strengthened the routines. We have taken action on many of the conditions that have arisen here today, said Støre. He stated that trust in politicians has been weakened by the issues that have been raised. At the same time, he emphasized that it is the individual’s responsibility to assess their own competence. – The Minister of State has a duty to familiarize himself with the rules. One cannot wait to be told what the actual conditions are. Only the individual can have an overview of ties that can lead to disqualification, Støre said and continued: – It is important that we do not dilute this responsibility that lies with each individual member of the government. Three resigned Ola Borten Moe (Sp), Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) and Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) are all now out of government. All of them pointed, in different ways, to what they experienced as shortcomings or weaknesses in the current system for dealing with impartiality. Former SP deputy leader and research minister Ola Borten Moe believes the regulations were unclear and the training too weak in the government he himself was a part of. Borten Moe had to resign this summer after it became known that he had bought arms stocks and breached the ethics rules. – 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). CRITICAL: Ola Borten Moe pointed to several weaknesses when he was asked out by the control committee today. Photo: NTB He criticized himself for not having familiarized himself with the regulations well enough and “probably not understanding it 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 said. Huitfeldt recently had to resign as foreign minister. Støre justified her departure partly with a need to restore trust. In Huitfeldt’s explanation, it emerged that she did not have a background interview, a so-called vetting interview, at SMK before she was appointed in 2021. – As a politician, you should never blame the civil service, that applies anyway. But since I choose to be self-critical, I would perhaps also think in the constitutional department at SMK that one should approach this with great humility, said Huitfeldt when she explained herself. RESIGNED: Anniken Huitfeldt recently had to leave her post as foreign minister. Photo: Hearing in the Storting’s control and constitutional committee on breaches of competence Oslo 20231107. Previously published / NTB She described the rules on spouses’ share ownership as a “blind spot in politics”. – My impression is that this is an area that has become stricter and stricter and stricter, said Huitfeldt. Anette Trettebergstuen resigned almost immediately when her eligibility problems emerged this summer. In her explanation, she pointed to different practices at the Prime Minister’s Office (SMK) and the other ministries. – It is obvious, and we became aware of that in meetings with SMK. SMK’s lawyers have a different understanding of whether one can mention and propose names than the lawyers in KUD had, and different from what has come out in written reports in other ministries, said Trettebergstuen. PRACTICE: Anette Trettebergstuen believes SMK and various ministries handle competency issues differently. Photo: NTB
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– We have taken action – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
