– I feel that we have had a good conversation and that we have come a step further, says mayor Jan Oddvar Skisland in Kristiansand. He and the rest of the leadership in the Kristiansand and Agder Labor Party have just come out of a meeting with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The government’s decision on a referendum in Søgne and Songdalen has set the Christiansand politicians’ anger on fire. – It was a useful and good chat, and good to sit down and talk openly and honestly, says the Prime Minister. Feeling overwhelmed by his own government It has been two weeks since the government set fire to a debate that was actually dead. On June 7, the government opened for the inhabitants of the former Søgne and Songdalen municipalities to vote on a secession from Kristiansand. As is well known, it has created strong reactions: Mayors and city council leaders in eight of the country’s major cities call the situation an unacceptable overthrow of local democracy. On Sunday, it was announced that Bjørn Egeli is resigning as the Labor Party’s new mayoral candidate in Kristiansand. – It is problematic to be a local mayoral candidate in a party where I feel that in this case we do not have the party leader’s support nationally, he writes in a press release. Met massive public opposition Prior to the Prime Minister’s visit, Minister of Local Government Sigbjørn Gjelsvik has also been in Kristiansand. There he had a meeting with Skisland, which he describes as “good and frank”. But they did not reach an agreement. Then the trip went to Søgne, where several had turned up to mark their opposition to a divorce. – Everyone should be heard. Both those who are for Søgne as part of the large municipality and those who want Søgne as their own municipality, Gjelsvik said to the many present.
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Støre and Skisland meet the press – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
