Minister fears Landsvirkjun dispute could erode public trust

Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson says he is concerned that the departure of Landsvirkjun CEO Hörður Arnarson could undermine public trust in the company, mbl.is reports.

Daði Már said he understood why the explanations for Hörður’s departure might seem unconvincing given the consequences. But after speaking with Hörður and the company’s board, he said he had no further explanations to offer.

The minister was asked about Hörður’s statement that he had sought meetings with the Finance Ministry before leaving. Daði Már said no such meetings had been rejected, but a meeting requested in January with the board chair and CEO did not take place. He recalled that there were about three other meetings during the period.

He said unforeseen events often require meetings to be rescheduled and that he did not recall turning down a meeting. He added that some meetings might not have happened because something came up.

Asked whether the matter had been fully explained to the public, Daði Már said the reasons might not seem significant enough to justify the outcome, making the explanations appear unconvincing. He said these were the explanations he had received and that further questions should be directed to Hörður and the board.

Daði Már said state-owned companies must be run responsibly and their governance arrangements must command public trust. He said his main aim had been to ensure that decisions were made on a professional basis, while stressing that he was not suggesting they had previously been unprofessional.

He said the process for selecting boards, the criteria used and the way boards communicate with the Finance Ministry on behalf of the public were now clear. The owner’s expectations, he said, should be set out in a publicly available ownership policy. Any development that reduces trust is negative, he added.

Daði Már said it was clear that problems had arisen in the relationship between Landsvirkjun’s board and its CEO, and that lessons should be learned once the dust had settled.