– It has almost been taken for granted that Høgre would win back Bergen, but now, right in the final sprint, it is not at all certain that they will be able to do it, says political commentator at news, Tone Sofie Aglen. For eight years, the Labor Party has been in power in Norway’s second largest city. But in May, news’s opinion poll showed strong signs of change. The right wing took the lead and 34 per cent of those asked would vote for the Right at the local elections in Bergen in September. City council leader candidate Christine Meyer cheered. Now, a week before the election, a new opinion poll from news shows that the right has lost its lead. See who the people of Bergen want as city council leader at the bottom of the case. Party barometer Bergen September What will the voters vote for in the municipal elections? Compared to news’s measurement in May.Party SupportChange28.0%H−6,117.3%AP+1,111.9%SV+0.57.8%MDG+0.97.5%FRP+0.16.9%V+1 .96.0%R−1.23.1%INP−0.42.6%SP+1.62.5%KRF−0.31.6%BRG−1.41.5%PP+1.01 ,0%FP+1,02,1%Other+1,1Click on the party circle to see the full party name. Based on 605 interviews conducted in the period 28.8.23–31.8.23. Margins of error from 1.2–4.5 pp. Source: Norstat Høgre back, left side forward The opinion poll was carried out by Norstat for news and shows that fewer people will vote for Høgre, compared to the polls from May. Several say they will vote for, among others, the Labor Party, the Center Party, the Liberal Party and MDG. This means that the left side can secure city council power and the Labor Party can secure four new years with a person in red as city council leader. – It’s nice to have measurements that go in the right direction. But it will be a thriller. We are ready to retain power, says city council leader Rune Bakervik from the Labor Party about the recent figures. And the battle for the city council is strong in Bergen. The city council leader is, simply explained, like a prime minister of the city they govern. Rune Bakervik is city council leader in Bergen for the Labor Party. He would like four more years in the city council and is satisfied with the opinion poll from news. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news The support party is still strong In the city council there are 67 seats, so-called mandates. A party must have at least 34 mandates to secure a majority behind the city council. It is very rare that a party achieves this on its own. Mandate distribution Bergen city council September poll compared to distribution after the election in 2019.HøyreH19+5ArbeiderpartietAP12−1Socialist Liberal PartySV8+2FremskrittspartietFRP5+2VenstreV5+2Miljøpartiet De GrønneMDG5−2RødtR4+1Kristelig FolkepartiKRF20SenterpartietSP2−2Industry and business partyINP2+2BergenslistenBRG1+1PensionistpartietPP10Fol ket’s partiFP1−10605 interviews conducted in the period 28.8.23– 31.8.23. Margins of error from 1.2–4.5 pp. Source: Norstat The two largest parties, Høgre and Arbeidarpartiet, must therefore cooperate with the smaller parties in order to obtain a majority. In the news poll from May, Høgre received more than twice as many mandates as the Labor Party, with 23 to 11, and the road to civic cooperation was apparently short. Now the cooperation seems to be much more difficult, and Høgre must court several small parties, such as the Industrial and Business Party, if they are to achieve a majority. Christine Meyer is working hard to get more people to the polls. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news – We still wish to cooperate with KrF, Frp and Venstre. Now we have to work hard to get voters to the polls and vote Høgre, says candidate for city council, Christine Meyer. If the opinion poll is successful, the Labor Party can secure 34 seats and a majority with parties they have previously collaborated with: Venstre, MDG, SV and Raudt. The common denominator in both collaborations: Left. And leader Per-Arne Hvidsten Larsen will not rule out cooperation with some of the political parties. – It is the politics that will be decisive for which party we will possibly cooperate with. We are keen to get our political issues through, he says. Per-Arne Hvidsten Larsen from Venstre is the city councilor for finance, industry and property in Bergen today. His party advanced almost two percentage points from the previous opinion poll. Photo: Simon S. Brandseth / SIMON S. BRANDSETH / news Chaos rages? Political commentator Tone Sofie Aglen in news says the opinion polls show signs of four new years of political chaos in Bergen. – It is very difficult to see some open collaborations that get a clear majority. This applies to both the bourgeois side and the left. The political leadership of Bergen has been marked by much unrest in recent years. At first the city council resigned as a result of the urban rail dispute, but a new city council was established shortly afterwards. Then KrF withdrew from the city council and collaborated with the Labor Party. The city council was again broken up when the then city council leader Roger Valhammer (Ap) resigned due to a motion of no confidence. The new city council was established without the former cooperation partners MDG, to the displeasure of leader Thor Haakon Bakke. If news’s latest opinion poll is correct, Aglen predicts a new year of unrest in Bergen. – There are several parties in the middle that are unconquerable, and whoever is going to govern Bergen for the next four years will probably have to be able to drink coffee and cooperate with parties they don’t like, or who don’t like each other, says Aglen. City council leader candidate for the Labor Party Rune Bakervik says they must do more to reach the younger voters. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Dead race between Meyer and Bakervik On the question of who the voters in Bergen would prefer to have as city council leader, regardless of which party they vote for, the people are divided. 4 out of 10 want Rune Bakervik from the Labor Party. Just as many could imagine Christine Meyer from Høgre. – This is very good news for me. Christine has rented this in the past, so the fact that more people want me is very gratifying, says Bakervik. Nevertheless, 2 out of 10 say that they do not know who they want as city council leader. The number is even higher for those under 30. – It shows that we have to do an even better job of reaching young people, says Bakervik.
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The right-wing party loses its lead in the new news survey for Bergen – Labor Party can stay in power – news Vestland
