– A monstrous claim – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

The temperature was high both during and after the debate on the NRK program “Politisk kvarter” on Thursday morning.

The theme was the new government quarter. It is estimated that the price could amount to NOK 36 billion.

This means that the Labor Party also questions whether it will be too expensive.

In addition, Councilor Raymond Johansen (Labor Party) asks if there may be too many security measures, how these security measures are designed and the consequences for the life of the city by bringing all the ministries together in one large government district, in the center from Oslo.

In the debate, the Minister of Local Government and Modernization, Nikolai Astrup (H), said the following:

“I think it is a bit sensational what the Labor Party is bringing here. Therefore, we are talking about a Gjørv Commission that was very clear that July 22 was the consequence of not taking seriously the purpose of the Security Law. And here Johansen is in the studio and he’s about to wish the same mistake again. I can’t vouch for that. “

Labor politicians: – Makes it harder to discuss emergency preparedness

Martin Henriksen (Labor Party) is a Parliamentary representative of the Labor Party on the Justice Committee. He himself was working in the government neighborhood the same day the bomb went off. Evaluate Astrup’s statement as follows:

– It is a claim that dirties the debate. And that makes it more difficult to discuss safety and emergency preparedness honestly in Norway, says Henriksen.

The Labor politician emphasizes that he believes it is completely natural to speak about the terrorist attack in a discussion about security and emergency preparedness, but he still reacts to Astrup’s statement:

– These are cheap rhetorical points and ladle kicks. There is no one in the Labor Party or in Norwegian politics who wants to make the mistakes that led to July 22, says Henriksen.

– It is a monstrous accusation against Raymond Johansen, who was secretary of the party and who was in the middle of the labor crisis on July 22. Say you are about to make the same mistakes again, in an ordinary political debate about the costs of the government quarter.

Astrup: – You should have told me differently.

– The Gjørv Commission was clear that the lack of security measures was “an illustration of the lack of recognition of the purpose of the Security Law”. My point was that that mistake should not be repeated, writes the Minister of Local Government in an email to NRK.

Astrup says that “it is therefore surprising that the Labor Party is calling for a reassessment of the security concept for a new government quarter, which has been the foundation since the Stoltenberg government agreed to rally the government quarter in 2012.”

Astrup says she regrets the way it was phrased.

– I’m sorry I said “wish” wrong, there I should have said “do” wrong. Nobody wants to make a mistake, says Astrup.

He adds:

– Nobody wants to be wrong, but the consequence of violating the security requirements may be that we still end there.

VG commentator Hanne Skartveit, who participated in the show, and Labor politician Åsmund Aukrust have also called the statement “debate rubbish.”

Astrup responds as follows:

– I agree that I should have been worded differently in Politisk kvarter. But it should be allowed to point out that it now appears that the Labor Party is taking a different line on the issue of security in the new government quarter than it has for the past nine years, without being accused of littering the debate, writes Astrup. .

Henriksen: – It is not sensational to ask questions.

Astrup says it “fully agrees that we should have a factual debate on the new government quarter,” but that the starting point should be the Safety Act passed by the Storting and the lessons learned after 2011.

– The Labor Party has laid the foundations for the new government quarter and voted for all parts of this concept. The Labor Party also filed no-confidence motions against the government because they believed there was a lack of security of the objects until 2018.

– When they can now present the bill for the safety standard that we all agreed to, they turn the mantle behind the wind, Astrup writes.

Martin Henriksen thinks it’s natural to ask questions about the government’s quarterly price and says he reacts to “that then you find that you should want to make the same mistake again.”

– When costs have doubled and the security landscape has changed, I don’t think it’s very surprising that I ask questions differently, says Henriksen.

The Labor politician believes that Astrup’s statement is one of several examples of Conservatives referring to July 22 in the emergency preparedness debate in what he believes to be reprehensible, and points to Jan Tore Sanner’s statement. in 2018 about Jonas Gahr Støre and «22. July card ».

– I think conservatives should think about their own strategy, because it is not the first time that July 22 has taken off its hat when talking about safety and preparedness in Norway, says Henriksen.