“Love you like that!” The artist Dagny set the scene for the national meeting of the Labor Party with several of her greatest hits. In other words, the hall was well warmed up before Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre took the podium – after almost endless applause from the delegates. A clearly moved Støre, who has had a rough ride in the days before the national meeting, followed up with a promise that did not exactly dampen the mood in Folkets hus: – We will set the course for an intense election campaign. There we will win not just one, but several hundred elections across the country, said Støre. Before he followed up with a rhetorical question, which he answered himself: – What really matters now? Yes, it is to take good care of the security of our country when there is war in Europe. To curb price growth and electricity prices, Støre said, adding that this must happen at a time when fossil energy sources must be replaced with renewable ones. Then he got into what many in the national assembly hall have surely wondered a little, deep down: – How is the situation with the Labor Party? And how is the Prime Minister really doing? Isn’t he a little grayer in the hair he has left? Støre followed up with a smile: – There is disagreement about a lot, but you – not about that! Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jonas Gahr Støre before the opening of the Labor Party’s national meeting on Thursday. Jonas Gahr Støre greets Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland. Tana mayor Helga Pedersen withdrew as a candidate to become party secretary last weekend. Party secretary Kjersti Stenseng Storting president Masud Gharahkhani Martin Kolberg at the national meeting to the Labor Party. – No spring flirt The Labor Party leader said the bad polls are about the voters’ lack of trust. And then he described the relationship that voters have with Ap, with a romantic couplet: The trust must be nurtured. – If we place the parties from falling in love on the one side to well established on the other side, then the Labor Party is not a spring flirt. We are not the party for short-lived infatuations. We are a party that is more like a durable marriage, said Støre. He promised to win back the voters’ trust by prioritizing “the most important things first”. – We must keep Norwegians safe, and take care of the security of our country. We will make everyday life better for people. In the speech, Støre praised the cooperation with the Center Party in government and said that it was full of assumptions they took over in 2021. – Then in 2022 the war in Europe came with all its brutality. The prices of food and almost everything else we need went up. We got an interest rate that is gnawing an ever-larger hole in the wallets of people with loans. And on the same day that Støre took the podium and opened the Labor Party’s 69th ordinary national meeting, Norges Bank arranged for yet another interest rate increase. Demanding increased benefits A number of large county groups and smaller party groups have put forward proposals for growth in social security benefits and social benefits. The reason is the problems that the large price increase has created. Ahead of the national meeting, Støre has said that the so-called work line is fixed, i.e. the principle that it should always pay to work. But he has nevertheless made it possible to increase benefits for those who have the least. – In some areas, I think it may be necessary. We have raised a number of benefits that you will see the result of this year, because decisions take some time before they arrive. Those who receive social security will have their salary adjusted this year, plus what happened to their salary last year, so they will receive higher benefits than the wage earners will receive this year and that will also apply to pensioners, said Støre when he visited on Thursday Political quarter. Jonas Gahr Støre visited Politisk kvarter on Thursday. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen / news There he described that many people in Norway have an “experience of poverty”, as he put it – I am glad that there is political commitment to do something about it, he said. – Not a crisis When he visited Politisk kvarter early Thursday morning, he denied that the Labor Party is in crisis. Despite the fact that the measurements have been weak for a long time. – I believe that if the Labor Party was not able to implement policies that meet what we are facing now with high prices, uncertainty in Europe and getting people to work, then we could be talking about a crisis. I see a party that takes responsibility for Norway in this time of crisis. It’s not a crisis for me, says Støre. – However, low readings are serious and I am keen to get them up, continues the Prime Minister. The run-up to the national meeting has been characterized by the conflicts surrounding the election committee’s recommendation and Tana mayor Helga Pedersen, who until Jonas Gahr Støre called her at the weekend, was open to challenging Kjersti Stenseng in a contested vote for the position of party secretary. TRAKK SEG: Helga Pedersen flanked by Hadia Tajik and Dag Terje Andersen at the entrance to the national meeting. Photo: Lilla Sølhusvik / news – I think you give Kjersti Stenseng far too much weight. She has contributed to us standing for election in a record number of counties and we have strengthened the proportion of women on our lists. Work she has spearheaded, said Støre. – Not nice At the pensioners’ cafe in the Ap-bastionen Høyanger, news meets Solveig Norevik, who herself has been a local politician for Ap in the industrial village where the party recorded 41.1 percent of the vote in 2019. NOT NICE: Solveig Norevik, who serves at the seniors’ cafe in Høyanger, says politics has came into the background before the national meeting. Photo: Arne Stubaug / news – Unfortunately, it’s probably the case that when there’s a row, it’s easy for politics to fade into the background and that’s a real shame, says Norevik. She acknowledges that the lead-up to the national meeting could have been better. The conflict surrounding the election committee’s recommendation and the battle for the position of party secretary has required most of the attention. – You don’t get to see what we really work with and stand for. There is a lot of good politics that comes in the back lesson. Those of us who have worked and held many different positions do not think this is any fun, says Norevik. TRUST: Kjartan Longva in Høyanger believes Ap should market its policy better. He says he has confidence in party leader Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo: Arne Stubhaug / news Kjartan Longva, who is also on a coffee visit at the old people’s house, says the Labor Party has to get better at presenting what the party achieves politically – They are unable to market their politics. There must also be tougher debates, they are a bit too weak there, says Longva. – Do you trust Støre? – Yes, to that extent. But I don’t have much else to trust, he says.
ttn-69
Ap is not a spring flirt – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
