Did a power struggle arise after Trygve Bratteli’s interview with Arbeiderbladet? Trygve Bratteli, Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977. Photo: Jan Nordby / Jan Nordby, news Yes, it did! After it became known that Bratteli would step down as party chairman, a violent power struggle broke out within the Labor Party. The chairman’s chair, which would soon be empty, naturally had to be filled. The only question was, by whom? As shown in the episode, the fight was mainly between the left-wing Reiulf Steen and the more right-wing Odvar Nordli. Reiulf Steen on the left and Odvar Nordli on the right. Photo: Paul Owesen / SCANPIX The tug-of-war between them created a great rift in the Labor Party. Steen and Nordli each had their own wing in the back who were arguing about which direction the party should take after Bratteli. The dispute between the two battle cocks is probably the fiercest power struggle for a top position in the Labor Party’s recent history. Were there more people in the party leadership with a minority background? No, here the series creators have made the party reflect today’s more diverse society. At the start of the first episode, Einar Førde, deputy leader of the Labor Party, is introduced. In the series, he looks like this: Einar Førde from a meeting in the first episode of Makta. Photo: news Førde is played by Nader Khademi, who was born in Iran but grew up in Norway. The real Einar Førde, on the other hand, was from Høyanger in Vestland, and looked like this: Einar Førde, deputy leader of the Labor Party and later Minister of Church and Education. Photo: Sverre Bergli / Sverre Bergli, news In the second episode we also get to know the new party secretary Ivar Leveraas: Ivar Leveraas, played by Manisha Sharma, from episode 2 of Makta. Photo: news Leveraas is played by Manisha Sharma, who is from Haugesund and has Indian origins. Here, however, there is a clear similarity with the original Ivar Leveraas, who is also from Haugesund. Ivar Leveraas on the podium at the Labor Party’s national meeting in 1975. Photo: NTB But, unlike in the series, the real Leveraas did not have a Haugesund dialect. It was normal at the time to switch to the more accepted Eastland dialect, which Ivar Leveraas did. Did the so-called “postbox committee” exist? The mailbox committee from the series, with LO chief Tor Aspengren on the left and Trygve Bratteli on the right. Photo: news Yes, it actually did! In the chaos that arose after Trygve Bratteli’s resignation, the Labor Party tried to involve all its members in the election of a new leader. The result was a separate committee, called “postkassen”, or “postkasse utvalget”. They were to receive advice and wishes from the members of the party to find out who was most wanted as the new party leader. LO leader Tor Aspengren, who has an important role in the series and is part of the mailbox committee. Photo: NTB In contrast to the series, where the selection is flooded with submissions, the “postbox” was in reality no success. Few members of the Labor Party took the initiative to submit letters and proposals. Wow, that was a classy car! Photo: news As “Makta” is set in modern surroundings, it is difficult to overlook the more contemporary car of Arvid Engen. The car used in the series is a Mercedes-Benz 230 TE, one of the most successful models of the German car company. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Known for being both robust and reliable, the Mercedes-Benz 230 TE became a classic in the 70s and 80s. However, the model was not launched until November 1975, so Arvid Engen must have been very lucky to have received a model in 1974, where large parts of episode one are set. But, tiling aside, Engen’s car is one of the few contemporary items in the episode. “Ronald Bye, you can’t trust him, he’s in the CIA.” If we are to believe Makta, Ronald Bye is a man of intelligence. Photo: news Well, at least there is no documentation that this is true. In the first episode, Arvid Engen tells Reiulf Steen that Ronald Bye is part of the CIA, and that Steen is therefore probably being monitored. Later in the episode, Bye himself talks about a meeting with the American intelligence service, better known as the CIA. Whether the real Ronald Bye was a member of the American agency is more uncertain. The real Ronald Bye, CIA man or not? Photo: BJØRN SIGURDSØN / Scanpix Although intelligence in Norway was high in the 70s due to the Cold War, there is no indication that Ronald Bye was actually involved with the CIA. If he was an agent for them, he has managed to keep it a secret from the outside world. It is worth mentioning that Bye, agent or not, has in any case had a great interest in the field, and has written several books about the intelligence service in Norway. Was power actually split at the national meeting in 1975? The opening of the national meeting in 1975 as it appears in the series. Photo: news Yes, it was. The Labor Party, which was deeply divided after Bratteli’s resignation as party leader, had to find a way forward at the national meeting in 1975. The battle to take over the baton was still between Reiulf Steen and Odvar Nordli. So who would it be? To prevent a split in the party, Einar Gerhardsen proposed, as in the series, a division of power between the two candidates. The Labor Party’s national meeting in 1975 as it actually looked. Photo: NTB The result was that Reiulf Steen became the new party leader, while Odvar Nordli was elected as the new prime minister. As a result, Trygve Bratteli was forced to resign. He had originally intended to continue as prime minister after his resignation as party leader. What was the Bravo accident, and did it make Gro Harlem Brundtland a “celebrity”? Gro Harlem Brundtland in front of a packed press corps in Stavanger. Photo: NTB / NTB Episode 2 in “Makta” begins with a disaster and an oil well that must be killed, where Brundtland subsequently becomes immensely popular. So what actually happened? Photo: news The Bravo accident was an uncontrolled blowout from a Norwegian oil platform on 22 April 1977. Oil spewed out of the well in massive quantities, and someone had to deal with the crisis. The Bravo platform after the blowout. Photo: NTB The responsibility fell on the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which was led by Minister of Environmental Protection Gro Harlem Brundtland. The blowout lasted for eight days, and Brundtland was continuously on TV to provide information on the situation. The accident established her as a future star politician. The way she handled the media and the accident even earned her international recognition. The New York Times itself described her as “A future head of state”. Is the “scandalous” report by Reiulf Steen in Ny Tid real? Photo: news Yes, for the most part the incident is true. In episode two, Reiulf Steen is reasonably upset when he sits down with the journalist, and according to Brundtland himself, Steen was actually under the influence of alcohol during the fateful interview. As in the series, the real interview became a controversial episode for Steen. The front page of Ny Tid after the interview. DNA stands for the Norwegian Labor Party. Photo: Ny Tid In the interview with the SV newspaper, he takes issue with a passive party programme, and admits that there are two wings in the party that are at war. He elaborates that the right wing is the one that seems to be on the offensive. It is naturally sensational information to present during an election campaign. The drama became so great after the interview that Finance Minister Bjartmar Gjerde demanded Steen’s resignation as party leader. The front page of Ny Tid a week later, with a less satisfied Gjerde in print. Photo: Ny Tid So even if the posting and the statements are somewhat different in the episode, the series creators have mostly got their point across. Was Trygve Bratteli really that slow? Photo: news No, not really. If we are to believe the first two episodes of “Makta”, Trygve Bratteli was not far from a senile existence when he ruled the country. The slow “Minister of State”, as he is introduced in the previous episode, is portrayed as a slightly confused and complacent gentleman. The Prime Minister is in place. Photo: news The real Bratteli, on the other hand, was recognized for being a sharp and intellectual politician. More of a respected leadership figure than the seventh father in the house. The characterization of Bratteli nevertheless has some kind of root in reality. Trygve Bratteli was a politically sharp and well-recognized prime minister. Photo: NTB He was known for being a sullen and rigid figure, and never quite became friends with the “new” medium called TV. He was tight-lipped and otherwise expressed himself rather verbosely. In addition, Bratteli was marked by the years he spent in a concentration camp during the Second World War, which he also carried with him into top politics. In other words, his personality was not the most exuberant, which the series creators have undoubtedly played on the portrayal of the former prime minister. Did Reiulf Steen get so drunk that he had to get help before the national meeting in 1977? A hungover Reiulf Steen in episode two. Photo: news Poor man, yes, he did. As in the series, Reiulf Steen lived in a dormitory in Oslo for parts of 1977, due to an ongoing divorce with his then wife. Steen was supposed to give the opening speech at the national meeting, but thus did not get the dream recharge at his small residence. Reiulf Steen, pictured under slightly better circumstances. Photo: Inge Gjellesvik He sat in the dorm and drank, and ended up drinking himself out of his wits and concentration the night before the important annual meeting. Steen was helped by his good friend Arvid Engen the following day, where he got a bath and a refresher before the opening speech and the national meeting. A slightly winded Steen managed to get to his feet in front of the assembly, and was met with a standing ovation before he delivered what is considered to be a sparklingly good speech. Was an envelope with forgotten votes decisive for the general election? The graphic that showed the result during the election in 1977. Photo: news Yes, it was amazing enough. Towards the end of the second episode, the Labor Party celebrates through the night as the winner of the 1977 election, before waking up the following morning to the news that the bourgeois actually won. But then a phone call comes to the Labor office with the shocking news about a forgotten envelope with ballot papers, found in Narvik. The votes turn out to go to SV, and the winner is once again the red-green Labor Party celebrating the election results in episode two. Photo: news What a drama, and that’s pretty much how it played out in reality. In 1977 there was a long chance of a red-green victory, as Steen and co. cheers over in the episode. However, on the morning of the following day, the preliminary votes from Ålesund are counted, and it turns out that the Labor Party loses a mandate to the Christian People’s Party. The tally is done and the election is over, the government is bourgeois. From the election in 1977, with Erling Norvik (H), Gunnar Stålsett (Sp), Lars Korvald (KrF) and Odvar Nordli (Ap). Photo: Oddvar Walle Jensen / SCANPIX But then the envelope appears in Narvik on Tuesday afternoon. It contains around 50 votes for SV, not 30 as in the series, and SV gets a mandate from the Conservative Party which ensures a red-green government. So even if the timeline and the fine details are partly fiction, the spindly choice from the second episode is not far from spindly reality. Watch episode 1 of Makta! Watch episode 2 of Makta!
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Makta episode 1 and 2 – news Culture and entertainment
