Siv Irene Iversen works as a nursing assistant in Harstad. She has always voted for the Center Party, and occasionally for the Labor Party. But now it’s over. – I don’t think they are doing a good enough job, and now it will be Frp, says Iversen. She has an ex-husband who is demented and does not think the elderly care in the municipality is good enough. Iversen believes that the red-greens have failed, and that the Fremskrittspartiet has locally taken the elderly and employees in the health care system seriously. – They have proposed to increase the basic staffing in my city, which is very much needed, there are far too few people on the floor. Siv Irene Iversen is concerned with elderly care and district politics. Photo: Øystein A. Antonsen / news Now she will also vote FRP in the county council election in Troms. She justifies this with the help she has received from the party locally, and that it is important to preserve upper secondary schools in the district. Great progress for the Frp According to news’s recent opinion poll, the Frp’s support is increasing in northern Norway, especially in Troms and Finnmark. The measurement is compared to the election results in 2019. – The FRP is steadily gaining strength across the board, and seems to be attracting voters from several parties, says PhD student at UiT, Øystein Solvang. – In particular, it looks like the Progress Party is able to profit from the Center Party’s decline, which is very large in all the counties. Øystein Solvang, doctoral candidate in political science at UiT. Photo: Privat Today there is red-green cooperation at the county councils in Northern Norway. In Nordland, the Labor Party, SV and the Center Party cooperate with the KrF. Solvang says this about the likelihood of a political change in the county councils in the north: – There is a possibility of that. In Nordland, sitting county councilors have a one-mandate majority, as the poll here shows. While in both Troms and Finnmark, they must seek a majority from other parties. But the blue parties also do not have a majority as it stands today. Troms county poll 2023 compared to 2019Party SupportChange23.6%AP+0.618.6%H+3.717.5%FRP+6.611.0%SV+1.47.3%SP−16.85.5%R+1.34.1 %INP03,3%V+0,93,3%KRF+1,33,0%MDG−2,42,3%Andre+0,2Click on the party circle to see the full party name. Based on 1,076 interviews conducted in the period 16.8.19–16.8.23. Margins of error from 0–2.5 pp. Source: inFact AS Nordland county survey 2023 compared to 2019Party support Change25.7%AP−1,121.4%H+5,613.8%FRP+4,211.5%SP−13,89.9%SV+ 3.76.1%INP+6.15.1%R−0.42.1%V−0.51.6%KRF−0.91.5%MDG−2.71.2%Other+0, 5Click on the party circle to see the full party name. Based on 1,073 interviews conducted in the period 16.8.19–16.8.23. Margins of error from 0.7–2.6 pp. Source: inFact AS Finnmark county survey 2023 compared to 2019Party SupportChange24.3%AP−5,116.9%FRP+8,911.5%H+2,010.1%N+6,47.6% SV−6.07.4%R+4.16.8%SP−17.33.0%KRF+0.92.1%MDG−1.31.8%V−1.12.0%Other− 1.7 Click on the party circle to see the full party name. Based on 1049 interviews conducted in the period 1.8.19–1.8.23. Margins of error from 0.8–2.6 pp. Source: inFact AS The election result is with the help of UiT, split up for Finnmark and Troms, which in 2019 were one electoral district. – Fantastic numbers In the north, the FRP is making the most progress in Finnmark. With 16.9 per cent of the vote, support has almost doubled from the last election. Troms follows soon after with an increase from 10.85 to 17.5 per cent. – These are absolutely fantastic numbers, says the first candidate for the FRP in Troms, Kristian Eilertsen. – If that number here were to become a reality, then we would make a fantastically good choice in Troms. And that will mean more common sense in county politics, and less waste, he says. FRP’s first candidate for the county council election in Troms, Kristian Eilertsen. Photo: Christina Hårvik Nieuwlaat / news The party’s first candidate in Nordland, Bjørn Larsen, believes there are several reasons for the progress. – We have cases that resonate well with people in northern Norway regarding investment in transport and opposition to the introduction of ground rent tax and the electrification of Melkøya. We feel that we are getting help from a government that does not appear to want Northern Norway well. According to the survey, most men seem to want to vote FRP. Among men in Troms and Finnmark, the FRP is the largest party. – We struggle to make our cases women-friendly. There will be a lot of traffic, ferries and speedboats, which are “men’s affairs”. We also have issues about upper secondary schools which get a little lost in the election campaign, says Larsen. The FRP’s first candidate in Nordland says they must now rise to meet all voters. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news While the Frp’s list leaders can rejoice, the Center Party is falling like a stone. There are several explanations for this, according to doctoral candidate Øystein Solvang. – The closest in time is the Melkøya case, we will probably see a small effect in Finnmark from that. – But this is an extension of a decline that has been going on over time, which is due to the fact that the Center Party no longer has these reforms, i.e. county amalgamation, municipal amalgamation, police reform, to mobilize on. It has traditionally not been such a strong party up here, but has made some good choices when they have been able to mobilize on this type of issue, he explains. The Nordkalottfolket surge forward in Finnmark From being a mini-putt with 1.8% support in 2019, the Nordkalottfolket surged forward in the opinion poll with 10.1% support in Finnmark. Group leader Torill Bakken Kåven explains the success like this: – There has probably been a lack of a party that takes the people seriously and dares to discuss the slightly difficult things. Matters that people often agree with, but which are difficult to stand up for, says Bakken Kåven. Toril Bakken Kåven. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen In Troms, the Nordkalott people do not have the same support, with only 1.8%. – The Sami policy is important in Finnmark The Nordkalott people have driven hard on the Motor Traffic Act through several reader posts and debates. In addition, the party was early on with a position on the electrification of Melkøya, where they are negative. Election researcher Jonas Stein believes the growth of the Nordkalott people is startling. – That the party enters with such a strong group, together with the entry of Samelista, shows that Sami politics is important to people in Finnmark, says Stein. If the result stands until the election is completed, the Nordkalott people will get four mandates on the County Council. The industrial and business party makes its mark In Storgata in Tromsø, first candidate Bjørn Lasse Haug hands out election campaign brochures to passers-by. In the opinion poll, the Industrial and Business Party takes 3 mandates in Nordland, 2 in Troms and 1 in Finnmark. – Very pleasing figures, says Haug about the measurement. Thorbjørn Jakobsen, Kristin Karlsen and Bjørn Lasse Haug in the Industrial and Business Party in Troms. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen / news The progress of the Frp, the fall of the Center Party, and increased support among the smaller parties means that it is heading for an exciting election in the north. According to the survey, 20 percent of the voters have still not decided what they will vote for. – We have several small parties that are in and can get into a tipping point, says doctoral fellow Øystein Solvang. That’s exactly what Bjørn Lasse Haug in the Industrial and Business Party wants to do. – That means more influence. We do not go to either the Labor Party or the Conservative Party, we want to be a third party in the middle. We will probably have to cooperate on a case-by-case basis, he says.
ttn-69
FRP makes strong progress in a new opinion poll in the north – news Troms and Finnmark
