Center Party, Björk Sandcare | A warning against prominent politicians in the central party: – Oh no!

Imagine you are sitting on the local board of a Norwegian party.

Your local committee must hold an extraordinary annual meeting at which a chairman and board members are elected.

What do you do if you feel that your faction will not have a majority of those present – a few hours before the meeting begins?

You lose your place – and your power. Two hours before the meeting starts, you cancel the meeting.

This is the gist of the notice sent to the Central Committee of the Center Party this week. There, many allegations are leveled against local and national Central Party politicians for violating the party's code of conduct.

Netavisen has access to announcements and messengers that support several allegations against central party politicians. A message log is sent as part of the notification.

– Witness repeated violations

The announcement came from a store manager in the Oslo Center Party and was sent this week to several members of the party, including party leader Trygve Slåksvold Vedum, the rest of the central committee and the county board in Oslo.

– My moral convictions no longer allow me to remain silent and passive. Over time, there has been an unfortunate practice in the political leadership of the Oslo Center Party. During my tenure as a party member, I have seen repeated violations of party norms and basic democratic principles.

The whistleblower writes in the announcement, adding:

– It appears that rules can be changed, bent or broken to benefit those who hold positions and power.

But the warning doesn't stop there. This violation of the party's code of conduct led to the powerful General Secretary of the Center Party, Knut M. The whistleblower says that occurred in consultation with Olsen.

The general secretary is the day-to-day manager of the party organization who organizes the activities and oversees the rules in a party. In the central party, the general secretary also executes the declarations.

This is a notice against eight persons:

• Center Party General Secretary Knut M. Olson.

• Bjørg Sandkjær, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and leader of the Oslo Center Party.

• Sinne Lerhol led the Grunerloka Center Party until autumn 2023.

• Four other shop stewards at the Oslo center party.

Spy file

The conflict in the Oslo Center Party began in 2019 when a man named Peter Kirkeholmen appeared at the annual meeting of the Grunerloka Center Party.

The local team is the powerhouse in the Oslo Center Party, headed by State Secretary Sandker.

Kirkeholmen recruited party acquaintances, and at the annual meeting in January 2023 he was elected chairman of Grünerløkka Sp, and gained allies in the group. By the previous board, this was interpreted as a conspiracy.

But in February, Kirkeholmen was suspended from office. The board is rejected and the previous board is replaced.

The reason? After the meeting, the party finds a camera disguised as a coffee cup. A spy cup.

The trophy and the rest of the drama discussed at Grünerløkka Sp Today's business In August 2023. Kirkeholmen and his allies are also portrayed as conservatives who don't fit into the Grünerlöcka SP, the party's most liberal local wing.

Kirkeholmen explained to DN that he suspected someone would use “undemocratic means to block the will of the majority”. That's why he took the film secretly.

Spionkopp Incident General Secretary Knut M. Olsen was informed. He contacted the police, where the case was eventually dropped.

Time for an Extraordinary Annual Meeting on 6 June 2023. This time too it will be more dramatic.

Ask for a proposal of forgiveness

Messenger messages accompanying the announcement show how the fear of being in the minority during the annual meeting affected those in power in the Grunerlokka Center Party.

With only hours to go before the annual meeting, many of them are debating whether or not to postpone the meeting – and what the justification might be.

And since both Avisa Oslo and TN want to attend the annual meeting.

In several news, Central Party, Nat M. Both Olsen and Secretary of State Sandker apparently recommended the meeting be postponed.

They ask for suggestions for a waterproof excuse that can be used to explain the postponement.

– Total nonsense

It was decided that the meeting was canceled and postponed. Two hours before the start of the meeting, an adjournment notice was sent from Chairman Lerhol. This is because many people have canceled.

There is nothing in the party's bylaws about when to cancel a meeting, but the whistleblower believes the way it happened violates the party's ethical guidelines, particularly on transparency, fairness and credibility.

In the announcement, the whistleblower, who was in the same group chat, writes that it is not true that a significant number of cancellations were received before the meeting. The apology is completely silly, reports say:

– The rest of the board has been told to cancel the extraordinary annual meeting as management fears a repeat of the failure in January 2023. Our rationale for rejection was communicated to local team members via email. In my opinion, this is completely stupid and undermines the existing democratic principles and violates the existing ethical guidelines in the party.

I don't want to comment

Neither Sandker nor Lerhol wanted to say how they view the allegations and the news report.

– I cannot comment on the announcements, they are treated confidentially according to party procedures, Sandkjær writes in SMS.

– All announcements are conducted confidentially in accordance with party procedures and guidelines. Lerhol writes that he therefore does not want to comment on the notice.

Nut M for Netavison's inquiries. Olson did not respond.

– Damn it!

Publishes the same evening as the meeting is cancelled Meaning Dismissal case. Christina Ellingson, who was running for the presidency, told the newspaper that the cancellation was “sabotage”.

In group chat, there is a reaction to the subject case:

Someone in a group chat tries to change the mood:

Ellingsen adds later TN He thinks the meeting was canceled because he and others in the local team, including Kirkeholmen, disagreed on political matters.

– First they canceled the legally elected board at the annual meeting in January. Then they cancel the extraordinary annual meeting. All to prevent what I believe is good central party policy, she told DN.

Lerhol, who was the reason for the adjournment of the meeting, rejected the justification for DN.

– We canceled the annual meeting because it was important for us to have broad participation, especially considering what happened in January. When we got so many flaws, it was irresponsible to keep it.

– Sounds like you want to thwart a conservative conspiracy against the liberal hipster loop?

– No, we think our policy is consistent with the vision of the Center Party. Opinions cross paths, but we are used to discussing openly, Lerhol responded to DN.