– I was born and raised in the village and will thrive here whether we become Søgne or Kristiansand in the future, says Anne Siri Heimdal Haugen. She works for the company Sögne Home, the brand that has put the village on the country’s interior design map. But Søgne has also become nationally known after Trygve Slagsvold Vedum promised two years ago to reverse the merger in Kristiansand, if the residents wanted it. Since then, there have been hard lines for and against a reversal. – I’m very tired of the whole thing, says Haugen as she moves the boxes around the room. – I’m fine as long as I live here in the village, says Haugen. At the cafe Ms. Lyng, Inger Johanne Langlo sits with a completely different opinion. – I don’t think there will be peace in Søgne until we have become our own municipality again, she says. A recent opinion poll carried out by Respons analysis for news and Fædrelandsvennen shows that there is still an even balance in Søgne between those who want to keep the large municipality of Kristiansand and those who want secession. But for the first time the numbers have been reversed. Now there is a preponderance among the respondents in Søgne who want to stay in the greater municipality of Kristiansand. 48 percent of those asked in old Søgne want to keep the greater municipality of Kristiansand, while 45 percent want to secede. Two years ago, 59 percent of those asked in old Søgne were in favor of secession, while 31 percent were in favor of keeping the new municipality. Strengthened opposition The survey also shows that the majority against separating Songdalen as its own municipality has strengthened since the last time. Almost 60 percent are now against a separation of Songdalen from Kristiansand, while 35 percent are in favor. In November 2021, however, there were more people who wanted a “divorce”. 54 per cent then wanted Songdalen to be separated as its own municipality, while 31 per cent were against it. The local newspaper KRS has also recently carried out an opinion poll in which it appears that in all three old municipalities Søgne, Songdalen and Kristiansand there is a clear majority in favor of keeping the large municipality. Young people want a “divorce” If you look at the age distribution in the question of whether Søgne should secede, almost two out of three of those under the age of 30 are in favor of secession. In the age group 45–59, on the other hand, almost two out of three respondents are against Søgne being separated as its own municipality. A lot of unrest The merger has caused a lot of unrest after Søgne, Songdalen and Kristiansand were merged into one large municipality at New Year 2020. At the latest in February this year, the Kristiansand city council said no to a referendum on the dissolution of the large municipality, which will cost up to NOK 400 million . But last week a majority was secured in the Storting for the bill which could lead to a change in the law, and then a referendum in Søgne and Songdalen. The reactions have not been long in coming. While the action group “We who want Søgne municipality back” celebrated with cake and bubbles when SV secured the majority, “Ja til Søgne i Kristiansand” mobilized for public meetings and door-to-door campaigns to tell their version of the truth. Local SV politicians have felt run over by their own parent party. Back between the Sögne cartons, founder Kristin Vassnes says that they started the brand because they are so happy in their village. – We are incredibly proud of Søgne and the Sögne brand. Whether the village should become a separate municipality again is an incredibly difficult topic, and I can certainly see both sides of the issue, she says. The owner of interior design brand Sögne Home found the municipal merger difficult to comment on. Photo: Ina Marie Sigurdsen / news Are you for or against the large municipality of Kristiansand to be dissolved? Have your say here! Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue
ttn-69
For the first time, there are more people in Søgne who are against a municipal split of Kristiansand municipality – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
