This autumn, the county parties will agree on who will be their parliamentary candidates at next year’s election. Whether the politicians get the positions with the greatest political influence may seem to depend on where they come from. – If you come from Nordland and further north, you will be selected more easily. It is simply because in a government you need representation from our northernmost counties. That’s what Professor Dag Ingvar Jacobsen says at the Department of Political Science and Management at the University of Agder. See what the leaders of the country’s two largest parties think at the bottom of the matter. – District political considerations He is clear that district political considerations weigh heavily when a government cabal is to be formed. Professor Dag Ingvar Jacobsen at the University of Agder. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk – When party politics and perhaps gender distribution are taken into account, there is a high probability that people from scattered settlements and smaller places with strong support around one party will enter. news has made an overview of which counties the so-called politicians in power are based. The definition of a powerful politician in this context is either prime minister, minister of state, president of the Storting, party leader and deputy leader, parliamentary leader or committee leader in the Storting. The overview deals with those who have the aforementioned roles now, and those who were ministers in the last days of the Solberg government. – Location matters. Jacobsen believes that Vestfold’s location means that they often fall short when the most prestigious political positions are to be distributed. – If we look at Eastern Norway, historically most politicians from the Oslo area have held the most important positions. When these places are allocated, one usually looks to completely different parts of the country to fill the other roles, for example in a government. The professor also believes that the Agder counties are so close to Oslo that they are often overlooked or forgotten. – Yes, then you often look more towards Trøndelag or Northern Norway to create a balance in the composition. Speculating on whether they are capable enough In Vestfold, Anders Anundsen is currently the last minister the county can boast. The FRP politician from Stavern was Minister of Justice and Emergency from 2013 to 2016 in Solberg’s government. Anders Anundsen is currently the last minister from Vestfold. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix Before him, we have to go back to 2009 to find a vest folding with a permanent place at the king’s table. Then Dag Terje Andersen (Ap) from Lardal resigned as Minister of Employment and Inclusion, admittedly to take up the position of President of the Storting. Dag Terje Andersen was both a minister and president of the Storting. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / news – It is possible to think along the lines that there are simply not enough skilled politicians and that the parties have not been good enough to bring out political talent, but that becomes very speculative, says Professor Dag Ingvar Jacobsen at the University of Agder. – Internal strife and power struggles in the Conservative Party Responsible editor Sigmund Kydland in Tønsbergs Blad believes there are several reasons why politicians from Vestfold have not secured the best positions. – As far as the Conservative Party is concerned, internal conditions are to blame. Among other things, there has been a lot of internal strife, power struggles in the party and strange nominations. Editor Sigmund Kydland calls for tougher politicians in Vestfold. Photo: Jan Gulliksen / news Kydland believes it is a paradox that Vestfold, which is known as a blue county, has not had Conservative politicians in prominent, national roles for many years. – The parties in Vestfold have not been good at cultivating young talent, letting them go and get important positions. This perhaps particularly applies to the Conservative Party. The editor points out that it takes time to build up national politicians who will have impact and get cabinet posts. – The Right in particular has not been good at achieving that. In the Conservative Party, there has not been a good enough party culture to let young people in. – People think everything is good in Vestfold Kydland believes that Vestfold has its own challenge in that people think it is a county where everything is very good. – We sell ourselves as the sunny coast, even though we have significantly worse living conditions than many other municipalities. The politicians have not been clever enough to deal with it. Vestfold has easily become invisible and we have not had the help of our own Storting bench to make it better. Kydland also points to the electoral system in Norway, which he believes contributes to the skewed distribution of positions of power. – With the system we have, the northernmost counties get a much better result in relation to the population, but at the same time they have been better over time at hitting the table and raising issues and demanding their rights. – Lacks political identity Political editor Maja Sojtaric in the newspaper Nordlys believes Vestfold as a county lacks a clear political identity. She also suspects that the Vestfold politicians are too short-sighted. – The political issues that are raised in Vestfold are largely about who should and should not be allowed to build in the beach zone. It is hyperlocal. Maja Sojtaric is political editor at Nordlys. She believes that the local politicians in Vestfold can advantageously profile themselves on matters of greater national importance. – There is, for example, one reason why Rogaland is well represented with nine people. It is the proximity to the resources. If Rogaland had not had such a strong connection to the most important industry we have in this country, i.e. the petroleum industry, they probably would not have had nine people in the leading positions of power in Norway. The editor points to some very specific subject areas which she believes will help her gain national attention as a politician. – The politicians who manage to distinguish themselves in matters that concern the proximity to resources and proximity to the major societal issues that need to be resolved are more easily noticed. For example, there could be cases that deal with access to food, the farming industry, climate and environment and security and defence, says Sojtaric. Jonas Gahr Støre (AP) Prime Minister and leader of the AP Jonas Gahr Støre emphasizes the importance of having people with different geographical affiliations in the most important political positions. – For the Labor Party and for me, it is always a goal to reflect the country in a good way, and ensure good geographical representation in politics, says Støre. The Prime Minister points out that this is why the Labor Party is concerned with diversity and that minorities should be represented. He suggests also that news’s overview has too narrow a selection of who holds the most important national positions in politics. – The composition of governments will vary over time. It is also relevant to look at state secretaries and political advisers, who have important and central roles in our political system, when mapping representation, says Støre. Erna Solberg (H)Høyre leader Erna Solberg thinks it is a bit of a coincidence that for at the moment there are no central power politicians from Vestfold and Agder. – And then it depends on what you count as prominent positions. Right now the Storting’s 1st vice-president is Svein Harberg (H), who was elected from Aust-Agder. Solberg points out that when she was prime minister, both Tine Sundtoft (H) and Åse Michaelsen (Frp) from Agder sat around the king’s table.– In all counties, it is about doing good organizational work over time, so that you get knowledgeable and opinionated people with different experiences to want to spend time on politics and in the party, says the Conservative leader. Solberg believes that those who want to move up and forward also should focus on the political issues and what unites, instead of cultivating, for example, geographical and personal conflicts. Published 16.08.2024, at 05.05
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This is where the power politicians come from – Northern Norway crushes Vestfold and Agder – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
