– We want to strengthen the district’s economy, asserts Christian People’s Party group leader Øyvind Håbrekke. – We have to make sure that children and young people in Oslo have a good offer, says the Progress Party’s group leader Magnus Birkelund. But he says at the same time that the most important thing for the FRP is that the city council delivers on what they promised them in the cooperation agreement last year. That means cuts in property tax and more for road maintenance. DEALER: Group leader for the Progress Party, Magnus Birkelund. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news Negotiations underway This week, the Conservatives and Liberals are sitting around the negotiation table in Oslo City Hall together with the FRP and KrF. The goal is a budget settlement between the city council parties and the cooperation parties in Oslo City Council. At the same time, the consequences of the worst budget cuts in many years are beginning to become visible. The situation is most dramatic in Oslo’s districts. Many of them have more inhabitants than medium-sized Norwegian cities. Cuts in prevention news reported on the weekend about despairing children, young people and adults at the leisure club “Låven” in Søndre Nordstrand. It may be closed down after 60 years as a result of severe cuts in the district’s budget. A number of districts are announcing cuts. It can affect kindergartens, senior centers and, not least, preventive measures among children and young people. The city council wants to shave NOK 600 million off the Oslo budget. NOK 2.3 billion will go away over the next four years. Several districts are also struggling with large deficits from before. And despite crisis aid to the country’s municipalities from the government: the city council canceled no cuts when the supplementary budget was presented on 14 November. Here are the most important demands of the FRP in the negotiations: Bigger cuts in property tax More for road maintenance More for care for the elderly Less for cycle paths Measures against youth crime No budget for cycle paths Magnus Birkelund says that many people are waiting to see a bigger difference between a red-green city council and a city council from the right side. – In a situation where the economy is more difficult, I believe that we simply cannot afford a number of cycling initiatives. – But then you can’t afford to cut the income from the property tax either, can you? – It is about prioritization and where we should direct our efforts. And then the Progress Party has an expectation that what we have already been promised will be followed up, he says. NO TO RED ASPHALT: According to the FRP, there is money to be saved by building a smaller cycle path. Photo: Oslo municipality/Bymiljøetaten/Multiconsult Youth crime The FRP’s city council top says that the party is looking at several measures against youth crime. But aren’t cuts in child and youth measures in the districts the first thing they have to prevent? – Some of what we want to do is preventative in the districts. Investing in sports will be important. And then we also have other points that we take into the negotiations – Does this mean that the Progress Party is set on strengthening the district’s economy? – The FRP is keen to deliver on what we have promised our voters, where, among other things, care for the elderly and investment in sports are important points. It is also something the districts will benefit from, says Magnus Birkelund. Child crime Conservatives, liberals and FRP lack one vote to have a majority in the city council. According to the agreement that was concluded after the election, it is KrF that will deliver it. – Before we talked about youth crime. The new thing in Oslo now is that we are talking about child and youth crime, says KrF group leader Øyvind Håbrekke. According to KrF, one must start where everything starts, namely in families. One of the main requirements is therefore to strengthen family support measures in the districts through Oslohjelpa. Another is to strengthen the economy in the districts in general. Closure of leisure clubs and other notified cuts in prevention is not acceptable, the party believes. – It is serious. We take those signals. So we want to strengthen the districts, so that they have the opportunity to strengthen families, more also to run cultural and leisure facilities for children and young people, says Øyvind Håbrekke. DEALER: Group leader for the Christian People’s Party, Øyvind Håbrekke. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB KrF’s most important demands can be summarized as follows: Strengthen Oslohjelpa, a free low-threshold service that provides advice and guidance to families More for the districts More for voluntary organizations in the drug field More for universal design and other measures for people with disabilities More operating support to culture, e.g. Cosmopolite Høyre’s acting group leader Mehmet Kaan Inan leads the negotiations. He says this about the demands: NEGOTIATOR: Acting group leader for the Conservative Party, Mehmet Kaan Inan. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – These are some of the things we will go into in the negotiations. We are four bourgeois parties who share a common desire to make Oslo a better city, so we are optimistic about reaching a good agreement. Oslo City Council will adopt the budget on 11 December. Published 26.11.2024, at 14.52 Updated 26.11.2024, at 15.08
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Here are the requirements for the Frp and KrF in the negotiations on the Oslo budget – Greater Oslo
