Morten Wold, a Member of Parliament and recently one of its officers, has been fined and sentenced to jail for 24 days. He pleaded guilty in court this week to a serious drunk driving offense.
He’d returned to Parliament after his arrest last spring but resigned from his post as a vice-president of the legislative body. He’d been stopped by police for reckless driving on the busy E18 motorway in Bærum, west of Oslo, during the Easter holidays and tested well over Norway’s strict blood-alcohol limit. It’s set at 0.2, while Wold had 2.06 in what’s called promille in Norway.
That usually involves a mandatory jail term and no exceptions were made for the MP. He was also fined NOK 150,000 (USD 15,800) and lost his driving license for two years and three months. “It’s good to get this over with,” Wold told state broadcaster NRK outside the courtroom in Hokksund.
Wold, who represents the right-wing Progress Party, added that “I have not been looking forward to this day but it’s a consequence of something stupid I did during Easter. Now I just have to straighten up and be able to look people in the eye.” Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug was glad he’s been open about his alcohol problem and is getting professional help for it.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
