Grande showered with flowers

Grande Solberg Cabinet Government 2018The Solberg Government on the Palace Square after the Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting in the Palace. From Left: Minister of Finance Siv Jensen (Frp), Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H), Minister of Culture Trine Skei Grande (V) and Minister for Aid and Development Nikolai Astrup (H).Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB scanpix

Grande showered with flowers when the Members of Cabinet was Presented

With the Liberals joining in, it was time for musical chairs involving five new Cabinet Ministers. Four had to resign, five where moved to other Ministries and the remainder kept their positions. Grande was showered with flowers. 

 

Party Leader Grande emerged as Minister of culture in the redubbed blue-green Government who appeared for the first time in front of the Royal Palace after a short Cabinet meeting with the King on Wednesday.

A proud Cabinet was met by smiling friends when they presented themselves at the Palace Square at 2:15 pm. After hugs and handshakes, the Cabinet Ministers were presented with bouquets of flowers. Most of all where presented to the Liberal Leader, who struggled to hold on to all the bouquets.

– How can I carry this much, Grande said, who ended up being supported by Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

Elvestuen and Nybø

The Three Party Government must still seek support from at least one of the other parties in the Parliament to secure majority for its proposals, the micro parties exempted. And the Government’s platform, which was presented at Jeløya in Østfold on Sunday, indicates that it is not always the Christian Democrats (KrF) that they will compromise with.

The Liberals (Venstre), who got support from a little more than 4 per cent of the electorate at the parliamentary elections in the autumn of 2017, obtain three Cabinet Ministers in the expanded Solberg Government. Grande brings with her Deputy Leader, Ola Elvestuen, who becomes minister for climate and environment. The other Deputy Leader, Terje Breivik, will remain in the Parliament and takes the reins as the head of the parliamentary group.

Iselin Nybø was not reelected to the Parliament, but now makes a comeback as a Minister in charge of higher education and research in a split Ministry of Education.

Two new blue-blue

Each of the original Government parties presented new cabinet ministers at the King’s table on Wednesday. Åse Michaelsen becomes a Minister for the Elderly at the age of 57. The newly created position is going to part of the Ministry of Health and Care. Michaelsen represented the Progress Party (Frp) in the Parliament from 2005 to 2017.

Norway’s richest politician, Nikolai Astrup (Conservatives) will in turn be responsible for being responsible for Aid and Development.

Musical chairs

Among the ministers who are assigned new tasks, the changes is the least for Sylvi Listhaug (Progress Party). She remains in the Ministry of Justice, where she takes over as Minister of Justice after party colleague Per-Willy Amundsen while retaining her former portfolio as Minister of Immigration. Amundsen is sacked after a dissapointing appearance.

Linda Hofstad Helleland, Jan Tore Sanner, Monica Mæland and Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, all from the Conservatives change positions. Helleland goes from culture to minister for children and gender equality, Sanner becomes one of two ministers in the Ministry of Education, Mæland takes over for Sanner in the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization, while Røe Isaksen takes over for Mæland in the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The musical chairs leads to that Marit Berger Røsland , Solveig Horne and Vidar Helgesen (Conservatives) follows Amundsen out the door.

Stays in place

The following ministers will remain in place:

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Defense, Frank Bakke-Jensen, Minister of Health, Bent Høie and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Anniken Hauglie (Conservatives),

Minister of Transport and Communications, Ketil Solvik-Olsen, Minister for Agriculture and Food, Jon Georg Dale, Minister of Fisheries, Per Sandberg and Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Terje Søviknes (Progress Party).

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today