DANISH POLITICS (8)

The GGGI saga simply refuses to go away, and today claimed its first major political victim, when Development Minister Christian Friis Bach resigned.

Mr. Friis Bach is the minister charged with overseeing the kr.90m of taxpayers' money that has been poured into this organisation, and sits on its board. When details first emerged of GGGI Chairman Lars Løkke Rasmussen's extravagant travel costs, Mr. Friis Bach categorically denied, both to the general public and - even more important - to Parliament that he knew anything about Mr. Rasmussen's extraordinary travel rights and had not been present when the GGGI Board had approved the rules.

This turns out not to be true. He was there when the Budget was approved, and the travel rules were an appendix to that Budget. He had read the Budget, but had not read the appendices, and did not realise that in approving the Budget, he had also approved the rules. When the scandal broke, Mr. Friis Bach asked his officials on a number of occasions whether they were sure that he had not approved the rules, and they said no, thereby making the same mistake as he had.

Politicians on both sides of the political divide are saying that it is a shame that he has resigned (which was an entirely personal decision), and that it is all the fault of those officials. Mr. Friis Bach is well-liked, and is apparently a very good minister. I have less sympathy. Board positions carry responsibilities, foremost of which must be to read what is put in front of you as a basis for a decision. I used to be a civil servant and ministerial private secretary 25 years ago. The civil service could tolerate bad behaviour from a minister, intolerance, ingratitude and much else. The only thing it couldn't tolerate was a minister who did not read the brief. Mr. Bach Friis' experience shows why.

Walter Blotscher