Ministers adapt to life in a fishbowl

News Analysis: Ministers in Norway’s new government may be happy to have the weekend, although that doesn’t mean they can necessarily rest. Some of them have been subject to a rigorous screening process by Prime Minister Erna Solberg, for which they have been heavily criticized by political opponents and the media. Meanwhile, critics have also slammed what they call the “quota system” that led to their appointments.

“We have spoken to them about whether they have any hidden agenda,” Solberg told reporters. Corriere della Sera Sunday. “Some have. Then we have to assess whether they can serve as government ministers. (minister) Regardless, the answer is yes.”

This suggests that when the going gets tough she will defend them, something some ministers have already done. For example, the new minister responsible for families and equalities, Solveig Horne of the Progress Party, was widely criticised for comments three years ago when she questioned whether gay books should be read to young children and whether girls as well as boys were responsible for teenage sexual assault. She later said she had never suggested that rape victims should be held accountable, only rapists.

Meanwhile, new Justice Minister Anders Ánonsson also made headlines for publicly burning what he called the “last few issues (of the local newspaper)”. Tønsbergbrad” He’ll read it. Anderson also urged his 2,647 Facebook friends to unsubscribe from the paper and drop any friends they might have who worked as journalists at the paper. That was shortly after the election and weeks before he was appointed attorney general, a job that meant he would need to support measures to combat cyberbullying. He was accused of doing just that, that it was wrong for the attorney general to boycott a newspaper because he didn’t like its views. He later backed down, saying he never intended to propose a boycott.

Experience and ruggedness aside…
While Horn is not well-known in Norway, Anonssen is one of the most respected ministers in the Progress Party. Even critics of Norway’s left-wing politics praise Anonssen’s experience in parliament and the experience of almost all members of Solberg’s cabinet, calling them reliable, knowledgeable and predictable politicians.

However, the centre-left opposition in parliament will take every opportunity to attack the new Conservative government, with Eskil Pedersen of the Labour youth wing AUF, who is himself gay, swiftly declaring he would reinvigorate the gay rights movement following Horne’s comments. Naringsleeve Daily (DN)At the same time, he shrugged off much of the uproar, calling it “gay hysteria” and noting it was not unusual for opposition politicians to use different rhetoric than when they were in government.

Enemies of the peasants?
Meanwhile, new Agriculture Minister Sylvie Listhaug is fending off criticism, not only from her own previous criticism of the huge state subsidies farmers receive, but also from her work over the past few years at First House, one of Norway’s most influential and secretive PR firms. Not only have many people demanded to know who her clients are, she has also been criticized for once equating Norwegian agriculture with communism. However, Listhaug, who grew up on a farm and claims she can still milk a cow, plans to meet with agricultural leaders on Monday to explain her views and hopes they can work together to make farmers less dependent on the state.

Even Nina Jensen, the head of the Norwegian branch of the Norwegian environmental organization WWF and the sister of the new Finance Minister Siv Jensen, is attacking Listhaug for his past refusal to acknowledge that climate change is caused by human activities. Listhaug and other government ministers under attack have said that she does not have time to defend every word she has said in the past. Now, she will follow the new government’s clear views on these issues, which is consistent with Solberg’s insistence.

Quota system under attack
Aside from criticism of individual ministers, there is widespread frustration with the so-called “quota system” that is thought to guide ministerial appointments. In egalitarian and geographically vast Norway, prime ministers take great care to ensure that an equal number of men and women are elected, and that all geographical regions of the country are represented. Solberg stressed that her cabinet reflects “the whole country”, but others do not see it that way. Due to the dominant demographic presence in the Oslo region, very few cabinet members are actually from the region, with only one from northern Norway and none from the large counties of Hedmark, Oppland and Buskerud. Solberg’s own homeland of Western Norway, however, has a significant number of cabinet members.

The day after Solberg’s cabinet was officially announced, industrialist Jens Ulltveit-Moe quickly complained that “the quotas are too much,” leading to the ouster of Conservative environmental wunderkind Nicolaj Astrup from Oslo by Terin Sontoft from Lillesand in southern Norway. “Niklaj Astrup is a talented politician,” Ulltveit-Moe told the newspaper. Daily newspaper“He has shown great professional insight in environmental policy. I was surprised (he was not named minister for environmental issues). It is important to represent the whole country, but you can’t exclude Oslo.”

Solberg won praise for appointing nine men and nine women, including herself, as ministers, making gender parity almost impossible, but she also faced criticism for having 30 of the government’s 39 state secretaries and 10 of its 14 political advisers men.

Astrup himself was relieved that he did not get the government job. “I believe Erna’s assessment was spot on and (Sandtoft) will do a great job. I wish her the best of luck.”

News English NetworkNina Berglund