Solberg’s state secretary was in dialogue with the mayor of Molde before the outbreak of the crown – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

– I spoke with Torgeir this weekend when he wanted to contact the press after the infection had increased again in Oslo, writes Secretary of State Peder W. Egseth in the prime minister’s office in a text message to NRK.

– After our conversation, I communicated it to VG, who contacted him, continues Egseth, who is often given the label “doctor of the thorn.”

He tells NRK that neither the party leadership in the Conservative Party nor Health Minister Bent Høie knew about the case before VG published it.

– Fortunately, it is not the case in the Conservative Party that someone can dictate what our politicians think, writes Egseth.

NRK has asked Egseth what he knew about Dahl’s message and what specifically Dahl should say to VG, but has yet to receive a response.

Vision

NRK has requested access to all communications between the mayor of Molde and political leaders in the Ministry of Health and Care Services and in the Prime Minister’s office.

Requests for access have yet to be answered, but early Monday, Conservative Party press chief Cato Husabø Fossen stated that no one in the party’s communications department was in dialogue with Dahl before presenting his proposal against Oslo in VG.

– No. Neither I nor others in the Conservative Party communications department have been in contact with the good mayor of Molde, Torgeir Dahl, this weekend or before the weekend, he wrote in an SMS to NRK.

Egseth is formally part of the governmental apparatus, not the communications department of the Conservative Party.

– Do not dialogue with the government apparatus

Torgeir Dahl himself has so far only stated that he had contact with the Ministry of Health and Care Services before Monday’s appearance on Politisk kvarter.

On Politisk kvarter on Monday, he received specific questions from the host about any dialogue prior to the initiative, and then did not mention anything about the dialogue with Egseth in the ruling apparatus.

-Have you clarified the plot with someone from the conservative leadership?

– No, I didn’t.

– Have you had a dialogue with someone from the government apparatus or the party?

– No, not in the government apparatus. But I got in touch when it started burning on Sunday so I got a fact update that I thought was important.

– Who did you contact then?

– Then I contacted the Ministry of Health.

– Common practice

Health Minister Bent Høie’s secretary of state for covid 19 cases, Saliba Korkunc, confirmed to NRK on Monday that they had been in dialogue with Dahl on Sunday.

– No one in the political leadership of the Ministry of Health and Care Services has had anything to do with the proposal of the mayor of Molde, and no one had contact with him on this matter before the proposal, Korkunc writes to NRK.

He confirms that he was in dialogue with Dahl on Sunday, after the mayor’s proposal was covered by various outlets.

– In relation to all inquiries from the media, it was natural for me to contact the mayor of Molde to hear what he really meant by his proposal. This is a fairly common practice when we receive inquiries from the media about statements from other party members, Korkunc says.

He says Dahl also asked for help Sunday night to be better prepared for the Politisk kvarter debate the next day.

– It is normal for party colleagues, such as parliamentary representatives and mayors, to contact the political leadership of the relevant ministry before big political debates, says Korkunc.

– Unnecessary coating

Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) is unavailable for an interview on Monday, according to the prime minister’s office. But on Facebook, he posted a post describing the debate around Dahl’s proposal as “an unnecessary avenue.”

– There is no doubt that Oslo over time has had it harder than others. I believe that the proposals in which the city and the country clash are unnecessary contributions to the coronation debate. Therefore, I believe that the proposal of the mayor of Molde, Torgeir Dahl, will be an unnecessary detour, the prime minister wrote.

Solberg writes in the publication that “we must all contribute” and that “municipalities across the country are doing a good job in fighting local outbreaks.”

Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre responded to the mayor of Molde in an interview with VG on Monday:

– I think this is very sad. Now that we are in perhaps the most important part of the fight against the pandemic, we must unite. When it becomes party politics, because that is what it is, I think it is an incorrect use of force, and I think it is reprehensible, Støre tells NRK, and at the same time criticizes Erna Solberg:

– The Prime Minister should have been to the field early, let it go for a whole weekend. And she says that this is an argument between Oslo and Molde, but it is not. We have to be together, he urges at press conferences, but then he has to put the closet in its place here and say that this is not right.

Following Erna Solberg’s comment, Torgeir Dahl writes to NRK:

“As the case developed, the impression that remains is that it is a criticism of the population of Oslo, and it was not. So there is no point staying in this debate any longer. In that sense, I agree with Erna. – as this has been done, this does not bring anything good.

Some have also supported the conservative mayor on social media, but the mayor does not hide that there have been many messages for him that have not been the pleasant type.

– It has been a pretty hard blow, says this Monday to the local newspaper Romsdals Budstikke.

Criticized Raymond Johansen

The mayor of Molde has received criticism from both his own party colleagues and others after he came out with strong criticism of Oslo.

The mayor of Molde gets to comment on social networks

– I am not very impressed with what Oslo has achieved. At one point they cry out for more government regulations and at the other for more freedom. It’s bad leadership, in my opinion, Dahl told VG.

Dahl told NRK that his goal was not to criticize the people of Oslo.

– That wasn’t my point. My point is that the people of Oslo deserve good and strong leadership in a crisis situation. I experience that Raymond Johansen is not responsible for this.

The mayor experiences that the situation in Oslo makes things difficult for the districts.

– It does, because we received an import infection from Oslo, especially that’s where it comes from. But the important thing is that we want the people of Oslo and Oslo to have control over this, as they have done in Bergen and Trondheim, as they have done in the rest of the country. Unfortunately, Oslo is the exception.

Johansen disagrees that Oslo mishandled the infection situation.

– Oslo is one of the large cities in Europe that has best handled the corona pandemic, and employees of the Oslo municipality have done world-class work, says Johansen.