Internal document reveals conflict between FRP employees and politicians

This summer, FRP leader Siv Jensen took a hard line against a “small group” at FRP in Oslo. Now the controversy continues:

TV 2 has had access to the call for a meeting of the county board in Oslo next Tuesday. Siv Jensen is among those called up.

The party document states that the Oslo Frp board and the county board members have recently received “clear messages” from employees of the party office and advisers to the parliamentary group. County leader Geir Ugland Jacobsen thinks employees are at the party “It has interfered with board members’ perception of command matters.”

Therefore, Ugland Jacobsen proposed a motion for a decision in the county council. There he wrote, among other things, that:

• The board is only responsible for the Oslo Frp annual meeting.
• That the “clear” decisions of the central government and the national government “could be guiding”, but that the opinions of party employees and the parliamentary group in the future will only “be treated as advice for the future.”

READ THE ENTIRE PROPOSAL:

Resolution proposed at the Oslo Frp board:

The Oslo Frp board and board members have recently received clear messages from party office employees and Storting group advisers who have weighed in on the board members’ perception of command.

Therefore, the board will clarify that the board members are elected by the Oslo Frp annual meeting and are therefore only responsible for the annual meeting. Clear decisions at the central board and the national board that have been recorded may be guidelines for the board in Oslo Frp, but the views of party employees and the parliamentary group will only be treated as advice for the future.

The board assumes that if board members receive opinions from party or group employees that they disagree with, this will be presented to the board for clarification. Employees of the party organization or group are not considered and will not be considered or treated as superiors of the members of the Oslo Frp board or the Oslo Frp board.

On Thursday night, some changes were made to Ugland Jacobsen’s proposal. TV 2 has access to the proposal that is already available.

He states that the board in Oslo will relate to “clear decisions” of the central board and the national board. The first draft said that “it could be a guide”.

READ THE FULL PROPOSAL – VERSION 2

Resolution proposed at the Oslo Frp board:

The Oslo Frp board and board members have recently received clear messages from party office employees and parliamentary group advisers who have weighed in on the board members’ perception of command.

Therefore, the board will clarify that the board members are elected by the Oslo Frp annual meeting and therefore are only responsible for the annual meeting. Clear decisions at the central board and national board that have been recorded will apply to the board in Oslo Frp, but the views of party employees and the parliamentary group will only be treated as advice for the future.

In the interests of the principle of a clear line of responsibility, directors must report to the board and comply with directives from there. The board assumes that if board members receive opinions from party or group employees that they disagree with, this will be presented to the board for clarification. Employees of the party organization or group are not considered and will not be considered or treated as superior to the members of the Oslo Frp board or to the Oslo Frp board.

The county leader: – One or more disloyal persons

The county leader in Oslo reacts strongly to the fact that TV 2 has obtained the party document.

– I experience leaks of internal documents as extremely unfair to the party. Someone obviously has a motive. I will not speculate on what it may actually consist of, Ugland Jacobsen tells TV 2.

He believes that it is not a cultural problem in the party, but:

– Obviously we have one or more disloyal people in the system, who do not want the game well.

He says the proposal is a “clarification of the command line to avoid misunderstandings.”

– Union representatives must, of course, receive advice and guidance from management, and we do so on an ongoing basis. But the party’s administrative staff have no governing authority in terms of politics and political priorities. It may not have been the intention to rule in this way, but I sense some uncertainty about it in my own ranks, and therefore I suggest a clarification, says Ugland Jacobsen.

– Are FRP employees centrally trying to override politicians in Oslo?

– Some have perceived it that way. Whether that was really the intention is another question.

– Do you have concrete examples?

– Yes, but we keep them internally. As I said, we perceive this to be a small matter, where there may be clarification from the county board. We do not pretend to go into examples that we may have. We take this at the county board meeting if necessary. For the rest, this is something that can be seen being done in many other organizations. A parallel example is the increasing border between editorial and administrative employees in the media, says the county leader in Oslo.

The first draft said that the decisions of the central board and the national board “will be guidelines.” In the liberal wing, it was interpreted as the county council wanting to deviate from decisions centrally.

– The decisions of higher bodies must be followed loyally, and we do. Of course, the meaning behind what is written in the proposal has never been different. Reluctantly, of course, it can be twisted. All decisions of the party organs must, in principle, be clear. And if there is room for interpretation, it is resolved with a simple query to the issuer, possibly the administration that wrote it down, says Ugland Jacobsen.

– Is it a clear decision that the FRP is a liberal popular party and not a patriotic beacon?

– What is Frp, it is indicated in the current program at all times. It has nuances and the tabloid formulations cover poorly, if you really want to understand, replies the county leader.

The party office: – I have no complaints.

TV 2 has asked several questions to the party leadership in Frp. These are the questions they received in writing:

1. What has happened between employees and members of the Oslo County Council?
2. Have you heard anything about the issues involved?
3. Have your employees intervened against politicians in Oslo?
4. What do you think of the proposal?

FRP Acting Secretary General Øistein Lid responds to TV 2:

– It is not usual to comment on the working conditions between employees and union delegates in the party to the media. As general secretary of Frp, I have not received any complaints from anyone in Oslo Frp about any dialogue between employees and the board members of the county team. Beyond that, I have no comment on the internal documents of the Oslo Frp case for a meeting that has yet to take place. In general, it goes without saying that all organizational members of the FRP must follow the party statutes.

Longest conflict

This summer, Ugland-Jacobsen appeared on TV 2 and said he is not sure whether Siv Jensen will top the Oslo list for the next election. There were violent reactions in the party.

– It is a small group in Oslo, which chooses to try to ignore all the decisions and strategies that the rest of the party has chosen. That, of course, is not acceptable, said Jensen himself.

A call to which Stavanger Aftenblad was given access showed county leaders speaking to consider closing the county team.