In 2019, the Center Party (Sp) made a snap election. With 14.4 percent of the vote, the party became the country’s third largest. In total, the party was left with 135 of the country’s 356 mayors. Now the Center Party risks losing the mayoral post in a number of municipalities. – We know that this is in line with what we previously called our best choices. But we are not satisfied with what we previously called our best choices, says SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum late on Monday evening. The Center Party’s support over time 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 0% 10% 20% The graph shows the Center Party’s support in the last municipal elections, all over the country combined. – Not many to choose from Indre Østfold is the country’s largest agricultural municipality. Farmer Kolbjørn Fagerås lives there. For almost 30 years, he has been involved in the production of milk, grain and meat at Østre Øiestad Gård. – The bank must have its way, and the expenses roll and go. So you just have to hang on to the strap, says Fagerås. When Kolbjørn Fagerås took over the family farm around 30 years ago, there were around 40 dairy farmers in Trøgstad in Indre Østfold. Now there are only 6 left. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news Prioritizing agriculture is his most important issue. Therefore, it is perhaps not so surprising that the Center Party got Fagerås’ vote again this year. – There aren’t that many to choose from. As a self-employed person, I would like the right wing to be more positive about agriculture. Does not rule out Høyre collaboration Today, it is the Center Party and mayor Saxe Frøshaug who govern in Indre Østfold. For the past four years, they have collaborated with parties on the left. Now Frøshaug may have to go to the Right if he wants to retain power. That does not rule out Frøshaug. Mayor of Indre Østfold Saxe Frøshaug (Sp) celebrates the election vigil despite the decline. Photo: Julie Helene Günther / news – We have not said that we will cooperate either on the right or on the left. We are concerned that we will gain traction for our policy, says Frøshaug. The Center Party is experiencing a decline in all Østfold municipalities except one. In Våler, the party has an increase of 3.3 percentage points, according to the forecasts. Blame the war in Ukraine Like the rest of the country, the Center Party in Nordland had a fabulous election four years ago. At the time, they ended up at 25.3 percent. It was an increase of 15.4 percentage points from 2015. Now the party seems to lose a great deal of what they took in at the last election. County councilor Svein Øien Eggesvik (Sp) blames the war in Ukraine and high interest rates for the decline the party is experiencing in Nordland. – We are very influenced by what is happening in the world. Interest rates are rising and prices have increased. It also affects us in Nordland, says Eggesvik. County council in Nordland Svein Øien Eggesvik (Sp). Photo: Kai Jæger Kristoffersen / news This is where the Center Party goes back the most In these municipalities, the Center Party’s support seems to fall the most: Andøy (-45.5 percentage points) Verdal (-35 percentage points) Brønnøy (-32.7 percentage points) Ørsta (-32 .0 percentage points) Seljord (-26.6 percentage points) Current mayor of Andøy municipality, Knut Andreas Nordmo (Sp), tells news that they are taking the advance votes into account, but that they had not hoped to come close to such a result they had four years ago. – 2019 was a protest election. We had no expectations of getting close to that, says Nordmo. Decline across the country The Center Party is experiencing a sharp decline across large parts of the country. In Sogndal, the party is likely to lose the mayor, with a preliminary decrease of 20 percentage points compared to the election in 2019. If the advance votes reflect the election, the party will be almost halved in Innlandet County Council: From 28.7 percent in 2019 to 14.7 percent in this year’s election. In Vestland, the preliminary figures show that the Center Party is down from 15.7 per cent to 11.9 per cent. The party is also experiencing a decline in Rogaland. From 10.6 per cent in 2019 to 5.9 per cent in this year’s election. How many mayors the Center Party is left with will not be clear until all the votes have been counted, and the negotiations in the municipalities have ended. Support throughout the country
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Election results for the Center Party in the municipal elections in 2023 – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
