Stockholm - Norway's centre-right minority government is
hanging in the balance ahead of a looming confidence vote on Tuesday,
called by the opposition in the wake of a controversial Facebook post
by the justice minister.
Sylvi Listhaug of the right-wing populist Progress Party has been
under fire over the March 9 entry, in which she wrote that the
opposition Labour Party was more interested in protecting the rights
of terrorists than Norway's security.
The post, illustrated with a photo of the al-Shabaab terrorist
militia, was made amid her criticism that opposition parties opposed
a proposal to strip foreign fighters of their Norwegian citizenship
without a court hearing.
The reference to the Labour Party was considered controversial in
light of the 2011 attack on a Labour Party youth wing camp, which
claimed 69 lives. The assailant was Norwegian right-wing extremist
Anders Behring Breivik.
Listhaug apologized to parliament on Thursday and removed the entry,
but critics questioned whether she was sincere.
Parliament censored her the same day, but the crisis did not
dissipate as the small leftist Red Party then called for a confidence
vote. Other opposition parties, including the Labour Party, supported
the move.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg declined to comment on Monday, but noted
that the government had apologized last week, news agency NTB
reported.
The centrist Christian Democrats have the swing vote. Party leaders
met Monday to determine their stance.
The Norwegian constitution does not have a provision to dissolve the
169-seat legislature between elections, so the parties would have to
find a new combination to form a government. Elections are not due
until 2021.