Christine Meyer will be the Bergen Conservatives’ city council leader candidate and hope for the local election campaign. This has been decided by the majority of the local team’s delegates during tonight’s meeting of the supervisory board. With 83 against Meyer and 75 votes for Hove and a blank vote, Christine Meyer narrowly won over her opponent Harald Victor Hove. Meyer surprised everyone when she announced her candidacy one week before the deadline. Until then, she herself had sat on the committee that was to appoint the most suitable leader. Now she has to gather a divided team before the battle for the city council leadership position begins in full. Christine Meyer was congratulated by colleagues after the result became known. Photo: Renate Molvik / news – I want to thank you for the trust you have shown me. I will do everything I can to show that trust worthy, said Christine Meyer from the podium. She continued to emphasize that the focus going forward is next year’s election. – This is where the fight begins. I look forward to being with you, says Meyer. Harald Victor Hove has been group leader for Bergen right since 2019, but made it clear that he was not interested in continuing in politics if he did not become top of the list. From the rostrum, Hove thanked everyone who stood to vote, but that it is next year’s vote that counts. – Thank you to everyone who voted for me, but remember that you will vote for Christine and Marit next year. I have to, too, says Hove. Marit Warncke was unanimously adopted as the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate. Harald Victor Hove has been group leader in Bergen Conservative Party since 2019. Photo: Adrian Nyhammer Olsen Noisy leadership battle The spotlight on internal strife in Bergen Conservative Party, which has been in opposition for the past eight years, was seriously set this winter, when group leader Harald Victor Hove became challenged by party colleague Eivind N. Bolstad. It started a dirty laundry in the party’s top leadership. Allegations and accusations against Hove’s leadership style and personal qualities were some of the things that were raised. BT could also write that Conservative veteran Henning Warloe is said to have been scolded by Hove during an urban railway meeting. That the party did not stand in unison behind Hove became very clear when the city teams recorded both him and the challenger, Bolstad, for the nomination committee in the party this spring. Christine Meyer and Bergen Conservative group leader Harald Victor Hove Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news Then came the surprise that turned the political process upside down: Former city councilor, state secretary and Statistics Norway director, Christine Meyer, was one week before the deadline set as Hove’s challenger and had the majority of the nomination committee behind it. Bolstad resigned and supported Meyer’s candidacy. Hove said he stood back confused, but took up the fight with a minority in the nomination committee behind him. The decision was made by the Supervisory Board of Bergen Conservatives. They consist of: The Executive Board and the Executive Board’s deputies. Five members from each district association, but each association gets an extra delegate for every 15th member. Elected members of the city council and deputies there. Any city councilors in the Conservative Party (none at the moment). Bergen Conservatives’ people in the county council and board. 20 representatives from Unge Høyre. 20 from Senior Høyre. 10 from Conservative students. Former mayors, city council leaders, leaders in the Bergen Conservative Party, parliamentary representatives and honorary members of the Bergen Conservative Party. A total of 159 voting participants were present. Read the nomination committee’s reasons here: The recommendation from the nomination committee in Bergen Conservatives The nomination committee has submitted its final recommendation for the city council leader candidate and mayoral candidate for Bergen Conservatives in the election period 2023-2027. The committee’s recommendation to the city council leader candidate is divided. The majority of the committee proposes Christine B. Meyer. The minority wants Harald Victor Hove. As mayoral candidate, there is a unanimous recommendation for Marit Warncke. Rationale for the majority’s recommendation (Anne Lorgen Riise, Ingrid Storebø, Bjørn Loe Nyhuus and Norvald Visnes): Christine is 57 years old, from Åsane and holds a master’s degree in economics from the Norwegian School of Management (NHH). Christine is a professor of strategy and change at NHH. She has been State Secretary under the Bondevik Government in the Ministry of Labor and Administration from 2001-2003. In addition, she has also been both finance councilor and health councilor in Bergen from 2008-2011. Christine has also been competition director and managing director of Statistics Norway. The majority in the nomination committee believes that her political background, competence and broad leadership experience make her the best city council leader candidate for Bergen Conservatives. Christine wants to work for Bergen to be attractive and innovative, international and inclusive and to be there for those who need it most. Quote from Anne Lorgen Riise; “With Christine’s political background, leadership skills and personal qualities, she will be the best and most comprehensive candidate.” Rationale for the minority’s attitude (Hilde Onarheim and Dan Femoen): Harald Victor Hove is 39 years old, from Årstad and has a long career as a politician. He therefore knows the politics of Bergen very well. He has experience from the business world and has worked as a group secretary in the Bergen Conservative Party and later a political adviser to the mayor and city council leader. In addition, he himself has been city councilor for three different departments from 2009-2014. He has broad experience, a lot of knowledge and a strong motivation to develop our city. In 2019, Harald was elected as the Conservative Party’s city council leader candidate and has since the election been group leader. Together with the Conservatives’ city council group, they have succeeded in marking the party in important matters, and we now see that the Conservatives are approaching 34% support in Bergen. This is very positive, and we want Harald to continue in the important role as our leading candidate. Quote from the chair of the nomination committee, Hilde Onarheim; “We believe it is important that Harald is allowed to continue the good work he has done as the party’s leading candidate, and that he is the right person to lead Bergen as city council leader after the election in 2023.” Reason for Marit Warncke being unanimously nominated as Bergen Conservatives’ mayoral candidate: Marit is 64 years old, trained as a psychologist and has extensive experience as a leader in private business. For the past 15 years, she has been CEO of the Bergen Business Council and has marked herself very positively in this role. Prior to that, she worked as a director at Falck Nutec. She has shown great community involvement and as a result was awarded the Sunniva Prize in 2001 and the Christie Prize in 2010. Marit has a broad network, is knowledgeable and has experience we consider useful to hold the role of mayor. She has a great commitment to achieve more in our city. She is particularly interested in business development and international cooperation. Furthermore, she is concerned with working for a better health policy that puts the individual at the center, and where safety, closeness and quality are important keywords. At the same time, she is concerned that Bergen must take a larger and clearer role in the work with the green shift. Quote from the chair of the nomination committee, Hilde Onarheim; “Marit is bubbly and committed and wants to be a visible and accessible mayor. She has big and important ambitions, and is motivated to take on an important task for our city. The committee is convinced that Marit will be a good and inclusive mayor for everyone. ”
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Christine Meyer barely won – news Vestland
