There were top political duels on a conveyor belt when the Prime Minister met today for the autumn’s first oral question time at the Storting. Right-winger Erna Solberg was the first to point out that the government “has eagerly leaked funding to the police and the health service”. She criticized Støre for the large distance between words and actions, and said that before the summer there were 600 fewer police officers in the police districts than at the change of government in 2021. TOP DUEL: Erna Solberg and Jonas Gahr Støre supported together in the autumn’s first question hour. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – For a while it was only the finance minister who I thought we needed to fact-check. But all of this autumn’s budget developments have meant that we also have to start fact-checking the Prime Minister. Will the prime minister start talking honestly about the budget priorities, asked Solberg. – A sensational question. The answer to that is of course yes, replied Støre. – What we achieve, it is stated in the budget. I am honest about it, and proud of it too, the Prime Minister continued. After question time, Støre hit back at Solberg to news and said the Conservative leader in the Storting made “claims about what we have presented that are simply not correct”. – Some of the allegations make me say that Erna Solberg needs to fact-check herself, says Støre to news. – Makes up the budget When the budget proposal was presented on Monday, the opposition was critical of what they experienced as pure overselling of several of the autumn’s biggest budget leaks. Liberal leader Guri Melby highlights Støre’s interview with news about the grants for nature conservation – as one example. – The Prime Minister promises news before the budget that this will be the biggest investment in nature of all time, then the budget will come and natural resources will be cut by half a billion. Nature is being destroyed at a tremendous pace and the government is therefore spending its time on this, it is serious, says Melby to news. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he was proud of the state budget when he met in question time today. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Melby believes that Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum did the same with his plan on tax relief, where he operated with a total amount for the entire period, rather than only showing what is given in relief in the budget year 2025. – It will be impossible for people to know what is true and what is not true. It appears dishonest, and does not give much confidence, says Melby and continues: – The government makes up its budget with selective use of numbers. In some cases they sell out SV’s influence as their own, in other cases SV’s influence does not exist. She asked the Prime Minister if he was deliberately trying to mislead the voters or if he simply did not have an overview of the entire budget when he talked about nature conservation with news. – The Prime Minister had an overview and fully stands by what he said, replied Støre. – Bluffed people The Progress Party’s Sylvi Listhaug is on the same track. To news, she says it like this: – The government has bluffed people about canceling student debt, a massive investment in health, about tax cuts that turned out to be only around 1 kroner a day and a police investment that is being eaten up by increased pension costs and wage and price growth, says Listhaug. – If the government were a business, it would have been caught for misleading marketing, she continues. CRITICAL: Misleading marketing, said Sylvi Listhaug about the state budget. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB She repeated this term in the parliamentary chamber and asked if “the government’s strategy is to hide a lack of action by leading people astray”. – The government’s strategy is to deliver a responsible budget that helps people get better advice in the everyday economy and help maintain the good results around corporate Norway, Støre replied. He added that he reckoned that Listhaug has read the entire budget from A to Z. – If she feels cheated by it, then I will gladly take another round with her about it, he said. Published 09.10.2024, at 09.52 Updated 09.10.2024, at 12.37 p.m
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Støre is accused of budget bluff – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
