Although the 19.8 figure in TV2’s recent opinion poll came as a lifebuoy in rough seas, the Labor crisis is far from over. Now it may look like Prime Minister and party leader Jonas Gahr Støre is embarking on a kind of three-stage rocket to get the party back in shape. Because it is neither the policy nor the government project that is wrong, we are to believe the party strategists. The problem is that the good news does not reach ordinary people. Therefore, the party leadership recognizes that they must travel and listen more, communicate better and sharpen the team. Some did not get a visit The Prime Minister himself has obviously taken measures in his calendar. Last week he met, among others, students, workers, LO and the Salvation Army at a packed program in Trondheim. He did not pay Norway’s largest Ap team a visit. In contrast, Støre has visited power companies in Sogn og Fjordane, and on Tuesday he will meet angry salmon farmers in Rørvik. In the wake of such trips, there are often nice reports in the media about a listening and interested politician, something his constantly traveling rival Erna Solberg has good experience with. Perhaps it can make the party both appear as, and not least become, more listening. At the same time, many believe that Støre’s problem is not that he doesn’t listen, but that he listens to too many people and wants to make everyone a little happy. More are calling for clearer management and a clearer direction. Rumors have swirled When asked if he wants to do something with his crew, Støre has replied that it is like the salmon tax: Suddenly it happens, without warning. But in contrast to the mentioned salmon tax, which came like Christmas Eve to the old woman in the aquaculture industry, rumors had swirled for weeks that there would be changes in the close circle around the prime minister. Last week it became known that Støre was replacing his communications team. Two state secretaries responsible for communications were replaced with two relatively new faces. Hallvard Hølleland came from the Ministry of Education, while Christoffer Thoner was brought in from the consulting company McKinsey. It is not known whether SP leader Vedum was consulted before the appointment. Too weak an anchoring and too poor communication has been a review theme when the government’s work has been analysed. But no one believes that two new state secretaries alone make a summer. Although communication can hardly be overestimated, it depends on the “product” they are selling being in good condition. At times one can get the impression that the government thinks it is a bad thing that the crises came now that it was finally their turn to rule the country. It impresses no one. Tonje Brenna has broad support in the party and could become the new deputy leader. But is it enough to get renewal? Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Bredde med Brenna There has been so much talk about Tonje Brenna becoming the new deputy leader that it is taken as a matter of course long before she has been launched. Or have signed up for service themselves. Already when Støre’s government was appointed, the fresh minister of knowledge was referred to as a shooting star. She had a good reputation as general secretary of AUF in the most difficult time after 22 July, and was also highly respected as county council leader in Viken, which was not as respected. Both for her work internally in the government and as an external face, she is praised. It is particularly talked about that she has an x-factor that in the Labor Party does not grow on trees. She appears both listening, not self-congratulatory and with lower shoulders than you are used to from Ap politicians. It creates trust and disarms her in debates. A fragile structure When you haven’t stood in line to launch her, it’s about other things than Brenna. Many are afraid of what forces will be unleashed if one opens up a real leadership discussion in the party. Then both deputy leader Bjørnar Skjæran and party secretary Kjersti Stenseng can live insecurely. You are so afraid that old alliances and conflicts can be revived if all the cards are to be dealt again. Makta i Ap is a compromise between geography, various wings and LO, mixed with a good deal of personal ambitions and contradictions. At its best, it makes Ap the country’s strongest bastion of power. But at the moment it’s more of a fragile structure that could collapse like a house of cards. The art of forgiveness The two former deputy chairmen, Hadia Tajik and Trond Giske, are particularly concerned. And there, forgiveness is not equally distributed in the party. Hadia Tajik herself tells VG that she has a lot of available work capacity. She is about to once again become one of the party’s most visible politicians. Many of her supporters believe it is high time to let her move on after the commuter housing case. Which by the way affects a large part of the politicians in the Storting. Hadia Tajik’s supporters believe it is high time for a comeback for the former deputy leader. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news If it is at the earliest to become deputy leader again, they at least believe that the stage is ripe for a comeback as a minister. One place where the idea of an imminent Tajik comeback does not go down well is in Trøndelag. Among the many who believe it is high time that Giske’s misstep becomes a closed chapter, there is less forgiveness to be had for Hadia Tajik. And vice versa. Which shows that this is hardly about the art of forgiveness, but that old conflicts and personal antagonisms are alive and well. As the number of members in the Giske team Nidaro’s Social Democratic Forum rises, the desperation grows in parts of the party about how his power can be stopped. Some are genuinely concerned about how he will use his influence, not least if it is brewing for a power struggle in the party. Giske med kaffekoppen has become a kind of opposition leader in Ap. And the members are flocking to his new but large local team. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg / news Naivety and love The only person who is hardly talked about is the boss himself. No one seems to threaten Støre’s position as party leader. That does not mean that there is no talk of how Støre leads the party. Few believe that it will help to replace some faces if the party does not take the problems very seriously. It is not just about communication and other glazes, but how the party understands and uses power. It is about what the party’s project is, beyond reversing Høyre’s policy and what they call “unsocial cuts”. A recurring theme when talking to people is the relationship between Ap and Sp. Although the party leaders promote this as the purest love marriage, skepticism is greater outside the party. Some fear that Støre is too naive in the face of the horse-trading and interest party. Whether it is enough with a few new faces, a traveling prime minister and a new, healthy deputy remains to be seen. A not very bold prediction is that the mood in the party will depend on developments in the polls. Very low readings over time will build up frustration, not least if Labor appears to be losing important positions of power in municipalities and big cities. Paradoxically, measurements of 19.8 per cent, a figure that would have made former Labor leaders turn in their graves, can become a lifebuoy that saves the party leadership from being thrown into even deeper water.
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Is this enough to save the party? – Speech
