Maria Skjøneberg stands in the large open space in the center of Bergen and puts chairs in place. She is looking forward to the place being filled with restaurant guests. – I think this will be incredibly cozy and a good atmosphere. People seem very positive and excited. Now I’ve been standing here packing up chairs for a few hours, and many people come over and ask what’s going on, says Skjøneberg. She is assistant restaurant manager at Holy Cow, which is located in the nearby Galleriet shopping centre. – Will go mostly alcohol From Saturday morning at 11, it and several other eateries are allowed to serve alcohol outdoors at Torgallmenningen until 22 in the evening. – Then people can order everything we have on the menu, and of course also alcohol. I think most of it will go away, says Skjøneberg. Adam Bjerck runs one of the seven other restaurants that have been granted a liquor license: – This will be an incredibly nice thing. You can sit outside and enjoy food and drink while enjoying Bergen at its best, says Bjerck. And many Bergen residents are positive that it is now open for pouring in the heart of the city. KrF: – Will exclude children and young people One person who is not at all happy is the Christian People’s Party’s top candidate in Bergen, Joel Ystebø. – To suddenly decide to open for alcohol serving at Torgallmenningen this summer is an irresponsible and cheap election campaign stunt. It will exclude children and vulnerable groups from the most important urban space in Bergen, he says. The party is not at all used to losing such battles in the capital of Western Norway. The pub policy in Bergen has always been of the restrictive kind, especially when it comes to outdoor dining. Because in practice it is KrF that has largely determined the city’s pub policy since the turn of the millennium. Joel Ystebø is the first candidate for KrF in Bergen. Photo: Lotte Solheim Johannessen / news The party has and has had few voters in the city, but usually ends up in a tipping point between the political blocs. Thus, the KrF has largely been a permanent fixture in the city council, regardless of whether the Labor Party or the Conservative Party has governed, and has always secured a tight grip on alcohol policy. Opened up alcohol-free zone But last autumn KrF chose to break the city council cooperation with the Labor Party, MDG and Venstre. Officially, the reason was that the party did not get enough traction for its issues. At the same time, the party has clearly expressed that it envisages a collaboration with the Conservative Party after the upcoming election. A few weeks after KrF said thank you, the city council signaled that the pub policy should be liberalised. The very first thing that happened was that it was opened up for serving in one of the city’s alcohol-free zones, at the Bergen cinema in Engen, as well as a discussion about whether such zones are legal at all. The tap towers are in place. Now it’s ready for outdoor beer. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Then, at the city council meeting on Wednesday 3 May, the Conservative Party, MDG, Folkets Parti and an independent representative won a majority for a proposal to open up to serving already from this summer in another of the alcohol-free zones, namely on Torgallmenningen itself. FRP and a number of independents supported the proposal. – On the few sunny days we have in Bergen, people want to be able to sit down. Opinion polls show that there is a majority for this in Bergen now, said Høyre’s new top candidate in Bergen, Marit Warncke, who until recently was managing director of Bergen Næringsråd. Jana Bergmann sets up tables at the restaurant Allmuen’s part of the outdoor dining area. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Thinks the timing is striking In addition to KrF and SV, the current city council parties Ap and Venstre also voted against – not because they agreed with Ystebø & co, but because the two parties believed the decision required more case preparation. – It is striking that this is happening right after KrF has left the city council. It shows that the party’s role is important in Bergen politics, especially in pub politics. That is why it is important that we get into the city council offices again, Ystebø believes. He calls it all “a sad development” and promises a tough fight over the drinking policy in Bergen when power is to be distributed after the election in September, if KrF is still in the cabal. – We are preparing to fight tooth and nail regardless of who we are negotiating with, promises Ystebø. City council leader Rune Bakervik (Ap) rejects suggestions that the city council is now taking its pub policy in a completely different direction after KrF withdrew from the collaboration. – We govern according to exactly the same regulations that have been in force throughout the city council period, the same as when KrF was in the city council and the same as, among other things, Joel Ystebø has voted in favor. As for the donation at Torgallmenningen, it was not something the city council wanted, but something a majority of the city council imposed on us.
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Historic defeat for KrF in Bergen
