How much does one get for 53 billion? Anyone who sees the new government complex (regjeringsbygget) may perhaps wonder. Where did the money go? Most of it has been spent underground, and much of it the public will never see, nor know about.

The government complex opened at 12.00 on Monday. Reconstruction began in January 2021, and the price tag stands at just over NOK 53 billion.

On Monday, the first of three construction phases opens. Two of the three government buildings are being put into use, and 2,200 employees from six ministries in addition to the Office of the Prime Minister (Statsministerens kontor) are moving in.

– In Norwegian history, we speak of the reconstruction after the war. Today, we mark the reconstruction after terror, which says something in itself about the vulnerability of a modern society.

– But democracy was not broken. The young were not broken. We are back, said Støre.

Accompanied by the sound of a small group of loud Palestine demonstrators, he also stated that freedom of expression appears to be alive and well.

The square in front of the high-rise block is adorned by a Palestinian artist who praised the Hamas terrorists who murdered indiscriminately at the Nova festival on 7 October 2023. That is an uncomfortable fact which will not be forgotten so long as the war continues and Norway does not correct its course.

Faldbakken’s 22 July monument looks entirely out of place and will scarcely survive for long. It is an artistic monstrosity.

The new government complex with the artwork by Matias Faldbakken to the right. Photo: Document