Before the election, the party had four goals: MDG should make the election of the times, submit more lists than ever, retain power where they ruled before and restructure several municipalities in a green direction. But: – We did not achieve any of these goals, says the report, which news has gained access to. The MDG went back in all the country’s counties. The party got no mayors or deputy mayors and lost power in all the largest municipalities, as close as Trondheim and Tromsø. QUIET: Torkil Vederhus believes the election campaign was too quiet, seen from the eyes of the MDGs. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news Failed to raise the issues Now the party’s own people have tried to find out why things went the way they did. The findings are compiled in an evaluation report. The report states that the election campaign was largely national and “quiet”. The evaluation committee believes that this affected the MDG, also because the party was in a position of power in many places locally, and was thus perceived as “a green positional party with no tailwind”. – We got an election result that was worse than what we wanted, says party secretary Torkil Vederhus in MDG to news. The party achieved 4.2 percent in the municipal elections this year. It is in line with 2015, but far weaker than the record result of 6.8 per cent in 2019. New tones After the election in 2021, the MDG presented a crushing accident report that received a lot of attention. It stated that the party was perceived as “crass, uncompromising, immature and single-minded”. This time there are not as strong words. On the contrary, it says that the party carried out a “better planned election campaign than ever”. – Last time you criticized yourself for being too harsh and uncompromising. Have you tried another strategy and it didn’t work either? – We have laid a foundation now, a foundation, which we believe is the right recipe for winning elections in the future. – How will you manage to achieve a better election result in two years’ time? – By presenting climate solutions that people believe in. By presenting natural solutions that people believe in. And by presenting solutions for business and solidarity that people believe in, says Vederhus. – Bluffed the voters The party secretary believes a main problem in the election campaign was that other parties chose not to come into conflict with the MDGs in the debates, and instead “stole green clothes”. – Then I especially think of the Conservative Party, who in my view bluffed by saying that they would deliver roughly the same policy, but then chose the FRP over us in several places, says Vederhus. The exception is Trondheim, where MDG switched sides and now cooperates with the Conservative Party, which has the mayor. – It is difficult to come into conflict with someone who does not want to argue back. There will be a lot of cuddling and hugging if you meet criticism by saying ‘yes, but that’s what we agree on’, as the Conservative Party often did, says Vederhus. – But Norwegians on holiday in the south were stuck at the airports, and we saw terrible images of floods and extreme weather in Norway as well. Why were you unable to profit from these matters? – There has been a shift in Norway where climate and the crisis have become linked, and it has become part of the political landscape. But that does not mean that the climate solutions are what people choose when they vote, he says. Self-criticism? When asked if there is something MDG’s leadership did wrong in the election campaign when the party is, after all, losing its position in many large municipalities, Vederhus replies: – You shouldn’t brag that you got fewer votes. However, we believe that our policy is the best for all these places. – So the answer is no? You haven’t done anything wrong? – Our policy is correct, and we will work to ensure that more people gain confidence in it in the next two years. There were not enough people who had confidence in our solutions in this election, compared to what we would like. – What does the evaluation say about the party leader’s efforts? – The management stands together on this evaluation, which shows that the election campaign was too quiet for us. We must all work harder to increase the visibility of the party and increase trust in the solutions we deliver and the good policy we have.
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Did not reach any of the goals – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
