– I do not accept damage to municipal property, and under no circumstances when it happens in the municipal council hall in the town hall, says Grimstad mayor Beate Skretting (H) to Dagbladet.
It was during a board meeting in Grimstad Frp last week that the discussions got out of control.
As a result, the glass and parts of the frame of a glass display case were destroyed, and pieces of a mosaic image came loose from the wall.
Review is considered
Mayor Beate Skretting says that the municipality’s administration takes care of the further follow-up of the damage, including whether it should be reported for vandalism.
It is under consideration, confirms communications manager in Grimstad municipality, Petter N. Toldnæs.
– The damages are being assessed for a claim for compensation. The cabinet is probably good to assess, but when it comes to art, it is a bit early to give some financial estimate. Questions about notification are under consideration, says Toldnæs to Dagbladet.
– Totally unacceptable
One of those involved has subsequently resigned from the party.
– I am glad that he resigned on his own, says deputy mayor and one of three remaining municipal council representatives for Frp in Grimstad, Lene Langemyr.
She was not even present at the heated board meeting, which was first mentioned in Grimstad Adressetidende.
– But I have been retold the course of events, and I must say that such behavior is totally unacceptable in Frp. Otherwise, the case is closed from my side, in that the person in question has resigned from the party, Langemyr says to Dagbladet.
– Provoked him a little
The board member of Grimstad Frp, Børre Githmark, tells local newspapers that he described another person at the meeting as whining. According to Githmark, this must have provoked the person in question.
– I provoked him a little. I told him that I think it was whining, a lot of what he was doing, says Githmark to Grimstad Adressetidende.
The statement came after a long-running debate on whether the FRP should refer to itself as a national conservative party or not.
– I said that we had put that case to death, Githmark says to the local newspaper.
He does not want to elaborate on the course of events to Dagbladet, but says that he is comfortable with the way local newspapers have reproduced him.
Felt stamped
The local politician who ended up in the quarrel with Githmark, confirms to Dagbladet that he resigned from the party shortly after the board meeting.
– The case of Børre and me is a blurring of what the case is really about, the person in question writes in an SMS to Dagbladet.
To Grimstad Adressetidende, the now announced local politician has stated that he feels stigmatized by deputy mayor Lene Langemyr as a National Socialist.
– It peaked when I was called a National Socialist. If it’s allowed to say that, it’s allowed to say everything, I think. I felt very stigmatized, he says.
Langemyr says the following about that dispute to Dagbladet:
– Now our party leader has also stated that if you want to change the Progressive Party’s ideological basis, then you have possibly joined the wrong party. I think that is well said. The ball was also put to death by the FRP’s national meeting this spring.
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