In Wednesday’s Question Time in the Storting, Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl gets one last chance to answer the questions about the use of the Tiktok mobile app. Questions she has previously refused to answer. She can avoid further problems, but only if she answers correctly, and there is one word she must avoid using under all circumstances.
Ten times the Minister of Justice has received questions, in writing or orally, from the Storting about his use of the Chinese-controlled mobile service. On all occasions, Emilie Enger Mehl has refused to answer citing security concerns.
Error about security
And it is this justification that has caused many parties in the opposition to cast doubt on the trust and credibility of the SP minister.
– Already in October, we asked the Minister of Justice whether she had installed Tiktok on her service phone. She then had the opportunity to sign off on this case by admitting the relationship and assuring the Storting that this was a mistake that should not be repeated, says Conservative MP Mari Holm Lønseth, who will ask the Minister of Justice again on Wednesday.
The FRP is also on the warpath. Justice policy spokesperson Per-Willy Amundsen believes the salient point for Mehl is that she used the Security Act as a reason for refusing to answer. In retrospect, Mehl has come to the conclusion that it is correct to confirm that she had Tiktok installed for a short period, in an interview with TV 2.
DEMANDS ADMISSION: Frps Per-Willy Ambundsen demands that the Minister of Justice leaves no doubt that she made a mistake when she installed Tiktok on her government phone. Photo: Erlend A. Sørbø / TV 2
According to the Conservative Party and the FRP, this means that Mehl confirms that she gave incorrect information to the Storting, when she used security as a reason for not answering. In that case, this is very serious. Ministers who misinform the Storting must either correct it immediately, or risk distrust.
Requires proper answers
– We expect Mehl to answer all questions completely and clearly during question time. And leaves no doubt that by installing Tiktok on the government’s service phone, a mistake has been made, contrary to the advice of the National Security Authority, says Per-Willy Amundsen to TV 2.
The Conservative Party respects that ministers can refuse to answer questions for reasons of national security, but Mari Holm Lønset points out that the Storting, which is supposed to control the government, in such a situation has few opportunities to find out whether the reasoning is correct.
TO TRUST: How can we be sure that we can trust the Minister of Justice the next time she refuses to answer a question for security reasons, asks Mari Holm Lønseth from the Conservative Party. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB
– How can we trust the Minister of Justice the next time she uses security as a reason not to answer? Here we need a credible answer from the minister, Sir Holm Lønseth.
She also recommends that the minister go through all the questions she has previously received about Tiktok, and use question time as an opportunity to clarify and correct any incorrect information to the Storting.
Don’t say this!
But there is one word Emilie Enger Mehl must absolutely avoid using in the Storting’s question time on Wednesday: Sorry. Stated by a minister in the Stortingsalen, this implies that you realize that you have made such a serious mistake that you must resign. On the other hand. If the opposition “regrets” the actions of a government or minister, this is to be understood as a motion of no confidence against the minister or government in question.
But such a no-confidence motion is unlikely to be raised on Wednesday. It is also not overwhelmingly likely that the Minister of Justice’s relationship with Tiktok will become a matter in the Control Committee. The Conservative Party has already signaled that a control case is only necessary if Mehl does not answer conclusively on Wednesday.
Erna also missed
Former Prime Minister Erna Solberg had to correct her description of her own relationship with Tiktok at the weekend. On Thursday last week, when asked directly, she said, twice, that she has never had Tiktok installed on her phone. But she remembered wrongly. On one occasion, she had posted a message on the Chinese app, from her phone. Høyre still believes that Mehl’s case is far more serious.
– Erna Solberg corrected herself at the first opportunity. And she didn’t say it in the Storting. There is a big difference, points out Mari Holm Lønset, who believes that regardless of the answer on Wednesday, confidence in Minister Mehl will be weakened.
