The election four years ago was simply not seen well in the eyes of the Right. After all the solitaires were settled, the party was left with 34 mayors – the lowest number since 1971. But now it looks brighter, or bluer. The Conservative Party has already secured 74 mayors, shows news’s overview, which is by the way not final – several municipalities have still not decided and the map below will be updated continuously. The Conservative Party is still some way behind the Labor Party. But it is as normal, as it has been ever since the war. Høyre’s mayoral record is 119 and is 22 years old. But then there were almost 100 more municipalities than today. Mayors throughout the country Map display The mayor’s party in each municipality Map of Norway where each municipality is marked with the party color of the party that has the mayor Not decided yet Select area All of NorwayAgderInlandetMøre and RomsdalNordlandRogalandTroms and FinnmarkTrøndelagVestfold and TelemarkVestlandViken Party Mayors Change Labor Party 91 −59 Høyre 73 +40 Center Party 72 −58 Progress Party 12 +9 Christian People’s Party 8 −2 Socialist Left Party 3 −3 Liberals 1 −1 Green Party 0 −1 Others 14 −8 The overview shows in how many municipalities each party has been given the mayor. In 83 municipalities, it has not yet been decided who will be mayor. The change shows how many more or fewer mayors the parties have so far, compared to 2019. Last updated 23/9/2023. Blue wave in Nordland In Nordland, Høyre’s progress is particularly marked. In the previous period, the Conservative Party had mayors in Bø, Gildeskål and Lurøy – and that was it. Now the party can get 12. The record in the county after the war is 15 at the election in 1979. In all likelihood, the Conservative Party will get four out of five mayors in Vesterålen. It is therefore no coincidence that Storting representative Nikolai Astrup (H) this week made the trip from Oslo west to Sortland – Vesterålen’s largest municipality – to celebrate the election victory in the north. Here, mayoral candidate Grethe Ellingsen made a landslide election – with 42.7 percent of the vote. – I definitely believe that it helps us locally that there is a blue wind blowing over the country. On the other hand, we made a good choice, we have 33 people between the ages of 18 and 92 on the list, who in various areas have been out and talked to people, listened and showed themselves ready to help drive Sortland forward, says the incoming mayor of Sortland. Grethe Ellingsen was mayor of Sortland from 2011 to 2015. Now there will be a new round for the right-wing woman. Here she is pictured when she stepped down after the election in 2015. Photo: Bjørn Tore Pedersen / news – It is very positive that we have got so many blue municipalities, and now we must use the opportunity we have been given to create good local communities, concludes Astrup. However, the election victory has ended up somewhat in the shadow of Sindre Finnes’ share trading. – It is a special time. We made a very, very good choice, but then the days after the election have been characterized by completely different things. – It is precisely now that it is nice to visit here, and to visit Grethe who has made a great choice, and to hear more about what they are going to use their power for, says Astrup. More cooperation with the private sector In Sortland, the former municipal minister visited, among other things, the agricultural school at Kleiva, where he was able to feed a cow. An exercise he was clearly not used to. – How will people notice that there will be more right-wing mayors in Vesterålen and in Norway? – I hope and believe that we are a party that will contribute to creating more opportunities for people, adding the right to growth, value creation and jobs where people live. We will work with the private business community to develop the service offering for citizens. Big ambitions And there is no shortage of ambitions. – The Conservative Party will facilitate good lives across the country. Astrup believes the Conservative Party won the election because the voters recognized themselves in the Conservative Party’s answers. He also believes the election was a judgment on the government’s efforts in recent years. – Many people see, not least along the coast, that it has been made more difficult for business to create jobs and to facilitate activity, and thus good local communities. Most people in blue municipalities Even if the Conservatives were not to get the most mayors. In any case, most people will live in a Conservative municipality. Oslo, Stavanger and Bergen turn blue. It will probably also be Trondheim. The same will happen to populous municipalities such as Fredrikstad, Drammen, Kristiansand, Lillestrøm, Sandnes, Sarpsborg, Skien, Sandefjord, Larvik, Nordre Follo, Bodø, Bærum and Asker. In these 17 municipalities alone, a total of around 2.3 million people live – i.e. roughly half of Norway’s population. – As a Right-winger, you are very happy about that, says incoming mayor of Fredrikstad, Arne Sekkelsten. – Are you surprised that the Conservative Party wins power in so many municipalities? – I am not very surprised, because they follow the national trends. But even with a national wind there are different results in individual municipalities, he says. Arne Sekkelsten had a lot to cheer about on election night, where the Conservative Party won roughly the same number of votes as the Labor Party in Fredrikstad municipality. Now Sekkelsten will be the new mayor of Østfolds municipality. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news news’s political commentator Tone Sofie Aglen believes that the right-wing comeback smells burnt after a bad local election in 2019. – Before the local elections in 2019, Erna Solberg’s goal was that half of the voters should live in a right-wing municipality. They failed completely then, but are coming back hard now, she says. And although much is still unclear, a very clear picture is emerging, according to Aglen. – Not only does the Conservative Party get significantly more mayors, but they take a big hit in the populous municipalities. Among the 50 largest municipalities in the country, there is strong Right-wing dominance. This means that the majority of the Norwegian people will be governed by the Conservative Party, she continues. In addition, the FRP seems to be getting good results in the number of mayors after a few lean years, adds Aglen. Will notice that the municipalities change color – How will most people notice that the municipalities of Norway are becoming bluer? – It will of course be noticeable that the municipality is changing colour, but probably less so than one would think in the debate. In local politics, the ideological differences are not that great, and it is often a lot about cooperative relationships and the ability to find solutions. Furthermore, the Conservative Party has moved significantly towards the center in this election campaign. – What does this have to say about the election in two years? – Many mayors are a great advantage for the Conservative Party and the bourgeois. Local politics is the very foundation of a party, and means a lot to a party’s ability to carry out policy, anchor the policy, be a listening post for voters and build profiles. Popular mayors tend to gain a lot of trust and make good choices. Therefore, it will be a strength for the Conservatives in the run-up to the general election in 2025. news’s political commentator Tone Sofie Aglen believes the result of this year’s local elections will be a strength for the general election in two years’ time. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news – Astrup talks a lot about private individuals. Will there be a wave of privatization in the municipalities now? – Right-wing municipalities are more positive towards private players and competition. They will certainly do that to a certain extent, but the experience is that this is toned down quite a bit in the Right. Now the Conservative Party mostly talks about “diversity” and letting “all good forces” go. Which parties the Conservative Party cooperates with and local conditions will probably also influence the degree of private solutions. For the Center Party, the arrows point in the completely opposite direction. The party had 132 mayors after the last election. In Nordland they had 19. Now they probably only get a handful. Nationally, they have so far secured 66. The Labor Party had 147 nationally. So far they have 80. – In terms of numbers, Ap and Sp retain many mayors, but there are also many small municipalities. For Ap, it will be painful to lose power in the big cities and in traditional Ap bastions such as Sarpsborg, Lillestrøm and Namsos, says Aglen. Support throughout the country
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Conservative leader Nicolai Astrup visited Vesterålen to celebrate the election victory – news Nordland
