Did you know that you must have a passport or ID card to fly to Svalbard?
It knows actually agriculture minister Sandra Borch (Sp) too, but when she packed for a work trip to Finnmark, Troms and Svalbard earlier this week, things went a little for fast in the corners.
When Borch was to check in on a flight from Tromsø to Longyearbyen on Sunday morning, she discovered that the passport was left in the minister’s residence in Oslo.
– Then I thought: “Hellsike rather”, says Borch to Dagbladet.
– A freak now and then
Tonight Borch was actually supposed to have had dinner with the local council in Svalbard, and tomorrow she was supposed to have several meetings in the arctic city.
Instead, Borch is sitting in his apartment at home in Tromsø when Dagbladet calls.
Russia with Svalbard accusations
– I go to bed completely flat, and I’m sorry that I’m missing these meetings. Fortunately, I have a state secretary who remembered her passport, so she participates on my behalf, says Borch, laughing.
– I am a vims of a minister from time to time, but I think that it is sometimes good to remember that we are also completely ordinary people.
Getting help from Oslo
The purpose of the Svalbard trip is to mark the global seed vault on the island, which turns 15 this year. It takes place on Tuesday. If all goes according to plan, the minister will at least reach that mark.
There is a new flight from Tromsø to Longyearbyen for Monday, and Borch has booked a ticket.
But did it fit?
– We are working on getting that from Oslo to Tromsø now. Fortunately, I know many people who travel, so tomorrow I will have it handed to me in Tromsø, says Borch.
Against meat hysteria: – Eat extra fat
– Who is the rescuer?
– There is a state secretary from the Ministry of Justice, who happens to also be going to Svalbard tomorrow, replies the minister.
And thus strikes a blow for cooperation across the ministries.
Praise the service
Borch didn’t have a national ID card with him either, and it didn’t help that the SP politician sits at the king’s table and has an ID card from the government.
– They made no difference, and I think that is very good, although it is regrettable that I did not get to travel. Those at the counter are just doing their job, says Borch.
In the future, the SP politician will perhaps be even more cumbersome when she packs before a work trip, but the responsibility will still fall on her.
– You don’t have people who can take care of this, then?
– No, this is entirely my responsibility, so I have to take this personally, Borch replies.
