– If you have nothing to say, shut up!

– Cowardly and lots of swagger, says political scientist Svein Erik Tuastad. – Not much more to go on for the municipal director in Stavanger, says commentator Trond Birkedal.

On Monday, the city council in Stavanger adopted a general statement on the municipality’s child protection. But what do the politicians actually say?

– The statement says nothing. It almost seems like the city council is trying to escape its real political responsibility with a lot of fluff, says Svein Erik Tuastad, associate professor at the University of Stavanger.

– I would say like Wittgenstein WittgensteinLudwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951) was an Austrian philosopher.: If you have nothing to say, shut up!

– The municipal director, not us

In the statement, the politicians list international and national rules on children’s rights: everything from the right to protection against harmful treatment, to the child’s right to be heard.

Then they say:

“If there are circumstances which mean that the child protection service is unable to take care of the above considerations, the city council must be informed as soon as possible.”

The statement came on the same day that it became known that child protection for the second time this year is receiving strong criticism from the State Administrator in Rogaland.

In addition, the Child Protection and Health Board in Rogaland came with sharp criticism.

– Why should the city’s politicians rattle off the ordinary procedures and tasks that the municipal director is obliged to do? They sort of say publicly: “It’s the municipal director who is the target here, it’s not us.” It is a disclaimer of responsibility, and it is cowardly, Tuastad believes.

Child welfare’s problem

He points out that both Bergen and Stavanger have now had their scandals in child protection.

– Due to the nature of the assignment, Child Protection will always make mistakes. Even good cultures can make mistakes. But sometimes mistakes are due to bad cultures. The cases Aftenbladet has mentioned indicate that something is not yet working in Stavanger municipality, says Tuastad.

Mette Vabø (V), head of Stavanger’s committee for upbringing, said this week that the statement on child protection is “strong and clear”.

Tuastad disagrees.

“The country’s best childcare”

– Do the politicians think that child protection is completely dysfunctional and does not do its job? Do they trust the children’s welfare’s management and organisation? Do they think that sometimes mistakes happen, without there being anything wrong with the child protection system? Or do they think that there is something fundamentally wrong with the child protection system in Stavanger? The city’s citizens must know that, says Tuastad.

Mayor Sissel Knutsen Hegdal (H) recently wrote that Stavanger should have “the country’s best childcare”.

– It seems almost absurd. Should Stavanger get the country’s best childcare with the help of politicians? Then they must show that they understand what is going on, and create a constructive process. Now they seem most concerned with distancing themselves from responsibility, Tuastad believes.

– Some mistrust of the municipal director

– I interpret the statement from the city council as a bit of mistrust of the municipal director, says Trond Birkedal, political commentator, guest commentator in Aftenbladet, and former politician in Stavanger.

– The statement may indicate that the politicians do not believe that the municipal director is doing his job: That he does not notify them if the child protection service is not operating properly. It also seems that they are panicking so as not to appear to be active.

Birkedal has raised the issue that the mayor has in several cases read serious revelations in Aftenbladet, without first being informed by the municipal director.

On Tuesday, the mayor regretted that she was once again not informed about an important matter.

– There is not much more for the municipal director to do. If I were a politician, I would have wondered: “Are there other things we don’t know?”

Criticism can quickly exceed the authority of the municipal director, Birkedal believes.

– It is up to him how much public banter he can tolerate.

Birkedal believes the politicians must have ice in their stomachs, and wait for the ongoing investigation of Stavanger’s child protection.

Mayor Hegdal answers on behalf of her and Vabø.

They believe it is most important to take into account two groups: Children and families who are in contact with child protection. And: Employees in child protection.

– There should be no doubt that the child protection service in Stavanger is at the very top of the elected officials’ agenda. We are prepared to take the measures necessary to take care of the tasks that fall under the child protection service, writes Hegdal.

Various actors thank the politicians

– Following the town council meeting, we have received many inquiries from various stakeholders. They express gratitude that the elected officials are clear about our goals, in a situation where individual cases dominate negatively in the media.

– The employees in the child protection service do a very good job, and face many demanding assessments and situations, writes the mayor.

Hegdal has no doubt that the city council’s statement is “perceived as important by many”.

– What assessment Tuastad makes from his point of view is not important. We wonder at his conclusion. But it is at his expense.

Municipal director Per Kristian Vareide writes to Aftenbladet that he will not comment on speculation about what the politicians mean by their statement.