– It gives us very little and it is not part of our social mission to run after national politicians in the local election campaign, says editor Svend Arne Vee. The local newspaper editor in Kinn municipality is fed up with national politicians who go on tour to shine a spotlight on their own local party. He believes that they rarely shed particular light on local political challenges and that what is unfolding often has little substance. The trend has gotten worse and worse in recent years, Vee believes. In an e-mail to the various local parties in the municipality, he states bluntly that national politicians will not be given priority. Instead, he encourages the local politicians to make contact and come up with input in connection with the election campaign. – Does this mean that if Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre appears, it will be without Firdaposten being present? – Not necessarily. If Jonas, Erna, Trygve or others come here with news that is of great importance to our area, we will cover it, he says. Otherwise not. When Høgre head Erna Solberg was recently in Florø, the local newspaper did not make its own report on the visit. Solberg was right enough with a case, but with a more subdued role. Want less of Erna and Jonas Folket supports that the local newspapers focus more on those about whom the election campaign revolves. – They are the ones I want to hear from, says Stina Bydal Hauge from Sunnfjord. – It is most interesting to hear from those who know the local issues best, believes Stina Bydal Hauge. Photo: Ole Kristian Svalheim / news 27-year-old Solveig Systad from Førde agrees. – It can be a bit too much Erna and Jonas, so it’s good to get to know the local politicians a bit more, says Systad. – Too much national politics Secretary General of the National Association for Local Newspapers, Tomas Bruvik, says it is always a balancing act how much national politicians should be used in the local election campaign. – At the same time, it must of course be entirely up to the editor himself to decide what he thinks is relevant in his newspaper, he says. Secretary General of the National Association of Local Representatives, Tomas Bruvik, believes that several national politicians are not relevant in the election campaign. Photo: Ådne Sandvik Dyrnesli / news Bruvik says that the local newspapers mostly hunt politicians for three years and eight months. Then it is four months before the local elections that the politicians are extremely on the lookout for the local newspapers – We have, for example, parliamentary politicians who hardly know what municipality they are in when they meet the local newspaper. Then it is not very relevant, he says. Bruvik also believes that there will be too much national politics and too little local politics in the big media. – I understand that it is difficult for them, but I would like them to use more votes from all over the country, he says. – More concerned with local politics Professor Yngve Flo at the University of Bergen does not agree that national politicians have become more visible in the local election campaign. On the contrary, he points to the local election surveys which indicate that national politicians take up less space in the local election campaign now than in the 1990s. – Voters have become more preoccupied with local issues and local candidates, he says. Professor Yngve Flo, for his part, believes that national politicians can be relevant in the run-up to the 2023 election. Photo: Anders Ekanger / news The researcher believes that national politicians can actually be relevant also in connection with local elections. – The activity in the municipalities and at the national level is linked. It is therefore important for the local press and local voters to be able to support national politicians on issues that are important locally, he says. Storting representative and former Førde mayor Olve Grotle (H) thinks it is fine that the local newspapers direct the spotlight on local politicians, but that it can be a difficult principle to follow. – When national politicians or ministers come to visit, challenging situations can arise where in one sentence they come up with something of local interest and in the next sentence something else. – I think it could be a division that will be challenging for Firdaposten, says Grotle. In Kinn, editor Vee for his part wonders if the national politicians can’t let the local politicians convey news during the local election campaign. – To the extent that they have something to say politically that is important for people’s everyday life, or the business world’s conditions, can’t they let local politicians deal with these issues?
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Local newspapers say no to national politicians – news Vestland
