Harrison Bergeron, part II

High school is three years here (grades 11, 12, and 13), but my school applied last fall for permission to run an intensive two-year program track for highly motivated students. This is an attractive option for a number of reasons. Many Norwegians (Inki included) spend a year abroad in high school, and this would allow them to return, finish up, and graduate with their class, which is not possible as things are now. It's also a good option for bright students who aren't challenged by the current three-year format and who are ready to move on to university early.
Problem is, the application is meeting passive resistance in the education bureaucracy and the party (SV) in charge of it. There was an article in the paper a couple of weeks ago about how the education bureaucracy is sitting on the application. Rejecting it now would make noise and make them have to justify their decision publicly, but if they sit on it without doing anything until, say, mid-summer, when everyone's already enrolled for next year (in other programs) and on vacation, and THEN reject it, they hope people won't notice. It looks like everyone knows this is what's happening, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
SV's problem with the application is philosophical. Apparently anything that could conceivably be called "elite" is knee-jerk anathema for a party that, as one of my colleagues put it this week, "wants everyone to have things equally badly." I guess it's my American upbringing, but I don't understand how "elite" can be a bad thing. Had George Orwell included the slogan "ELITE IS BAD" along with "WAR IS PEACE" and "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY" in 1984 I wouldn't have blinked an eye, since all three are equally ludicrous.
People aspire, and not to mediocrity. When you can win Olympic gold for the most average 100 meter dash, let me know.