Editing Vidkun Quisling (section)

===Defence minister===
[[File:Peder Kolstads regjering (1931).jpg|thumb|Quisling (seated, right) as defence minister in the Kolstad government in 1931]]
Quisling left ''Nordisk folkereisning i Norge'' in May 1931 to serve as defence minister in the [[Senterpartiet|Agrarian]] government of [[Peder Kolstad]], despite being neither an Agrarian nor a friend of Kolstad.<ref>{{harvnb|Hartmann|1970|p=64}}.</ref> He had been suggested to Kolstad for the post by [[Thorvald Aadahl]], editor of the Agrarian newspaper ''[[Nationen]],'' who was in turn influenced by Prytz.<ref name="dahl76"/> The appointment came as a surprise to many in the Parliament of Norway.<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2000|p=51}}.</ref> Quisling's first action in the post was to deal with the aftermath of the [[Battle of Menstad]], an "extremely bitter" labour dispute, by sending in troops.<ref name="dahl76"/><ref name="ringdal31">{{harvnb|Ringdal|1989|p=31}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|pp=85–87}}.</ref> After narrowly avoiding criticism by the left wing over his handling of the dispute, and the revelation of his earlier "militia" plans, Quisling turned his attention to the perceived threat posed by communists.<ref>{{harvnb|Hartmann|1970|pp=76–80}}.</ref> He created a list of the ''[[Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition]]'' (Revolutionary Trade Union Opposition) leadership, who had been the alleged agitators at Menstad; a number of them were eventually charged with [[subversion]] and violence against the police.<ref name="dahl76">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=76–78}}.</ref> Quisling's policies also resulted in the establishment of a permanent militia called the ''Leidang'' which, unlike the body he had previously planned, was to be counter-revolutionary. Despite the ready availability of junior officers in the reserve following defence cuts, only seven units were established in 1934, and funding restrictions meant that the enterprise included less than a thousand men before it faded away.<ref name="dahl78"/> Sometime during the period 1930–33, Quisling's first wife, Alexandra, received notice of the annulment of her marriage to him.<ref>{{harvnb|Yourieff|2007|p=467}}.</ref>

In mid-1932 ''Nordisk folkereisning i Norge'' was forced to confirm that even though Quisling remained in the cabinet, he would not become a member of the party. They further stated that the party programme had no basis in fascism of any kind, including the [[Nazism|National Socialism]] model.<ref name="dahl78"/> This did not dampen criticism of Quisling, who remained constantly in the headlines, although he was gradually earning a reputation as a disciplined and efficient administrator.<ref name="dahl78">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=78–81}}.</ref> After he was attacked in his office by a knife-wielding assailant who threw ground pepper in his face on 2 February 1932, some newspapers, instead of focusing on the attack itself, suggested that the assailant had been the jealous husband of one of Quisling's cleaners; others, especially those aligned with the [[Labour Party (Norway)|Labour Party]], posited that the whole thing had been staged.<ref name="dahl80"/><ref>{{harvnb|Hartmann|1970|pp=83–84}}.</ref> In November 1932, Labour politician [[Johan Nygaardsvold]] put this theory to Parliament,<ref>{{harvnb|Hayes|1971|p=86}}</ref> prompting suggestions that charges of slander be brought against him.<ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=109}}.</ref> No charges were brought, and the identity of the assailant has never been confirmed. Quisling later indicated it was an attempt to steal military papers recently left by Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Kleen.<ref name="dahl80">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=80–83}}.</ref>{{refn|Attempts to establish exactly what the Oslo authorities managed to achieve in trying to find the assailant have been hampered by the loss of the original case file. Quisling himself seemed to have rejected the idea that the plot had been masterminded by an important military power such as the Russians or Germans.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=83}}.</ref>|group="nb"}} The so-called "pepper affair" served to polarise opinion about Quisling, and government fears grew concerning reasonably open Soviet elements in Norway who had been active in promoting industrial unrest.<ref name="dahl83">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=83–89}}.</ref>

Following Kolstad's death in March 1932, Quisling retained his post as defence minister in the second Agrarian government under [[Jens Hundseid]] for political reasons, though they remained in bitter opposition throughout.<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2000|pp=52–53}}.</ref> Just as he had been under Kolstad, Quisling was involved in many of the spats that characterised Hundseid's government.<ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=91}}.</ref> On 8 April that year, Quisling had a chance to defend himself over the pepper affair in Parliament, but instead used the opportunity to attack the Labour and [[Communist Party of Norway|Communist]] parties, claiming that named members were criminals and "enemies of our fatherland and our people."<ref name="dahl83"/> Support for Quisling from right-wing elements in Norwegian society rocketed overnight, and 153 distinguished signatories called for Quisling's claims to be investigated. In the coming months, tens of thousands of Norwegians followed suit and Quisling's summer was full of speeches to packed political rallies.<ref name="dahl83"/> In Parliament, however, Quisling's speech was viewed as political suicide; not only was his evidence weak, but questions were raised as to why the information had not been handed over much sooner if the revolutionary threat were so serious.<ref name="dahl83"/>