This week’s fact check is about fat shaming, fake membership certificates and not least a very dramatic national meeting. Didn’t Thorbjørn Jagland get a hotel room at the national meeting? Was Thorbjørn Jagland (played by Nils Bendik Kvissel) exposed to a hotel plot at the national meeting in 1981? Photo: Motlys Episode eight is about the Labor Party’s national meeting in 1981. It was a dramatic national meeting, with several conflicts. One of the conflicts was about the hotel rooms. In “Makta” we see Reiulf Steen getting annoyed that Thorbjørn Jagland can’t get a hotel room nearby. Since Jagland was one of Reiulf Steen’s close associates, Steen believed that Jagland was not given room on purpose. Overview picture from AP’s national meeting in April 1981. Photo: Bjørn Sigurdsøn It is true that there was nonsense with the hotel rooms. Many people attended the meeting, and the hotel capacity was full. It affected several delegates, including AUF leader Thorbjørn Jagland. The national meeting was in Hamar, while Jagland had been given accommodation in Elverum, three miles away. Since Reiulf Steen was in a power struggle against Gro Harlem Brundtland, Reiulf believed that this was an act of revenge from the circle around Gro. There is no evidence for exactly that. In the biography of Reiulf Steen, Hans Olav Lahlum writes that it was probably Reiulf Steen who interpreted things into the power struggle that were not part of it. Was Gro “fat shamed”? Gro is told that she has gone out. Or? Photo: Motlys In the series, Einar Førde comments that Gro Harlem Brundtland has put on weight. She reacts, and doesn’t like being called fat. I guess nobody likes being called fat, so this probably didn’t happen in reality. Or? Yes, then. If we are to believe the books written about Einar Førde, it has happened several times. According to Tor Obrestad, he called Gro “trulta”. During the election campaign in 1985, he told Gro that she had to lose weight. Einar Førde had a crude sense of humour, and in the 80s he apparently had a standard joke which involved calling Gro Harlem Brundtland fat. Good atmosphere on the dance floor at the national meeting in 1981. Gro Harlem Brundtland and Einar Førde worked well together, and led Ap for many years together. Photo: news This does not mean that Gro was bullied. As she got to know Einar, she accepted much of his humor. When the people around reacted with shock to Einar saying “now you’ve become fat, Gro”, she reacted with composure. She had given him the green light to notify her if she went out. Was Reiulf Steen pushed out of the party leadership? The biggest moment of tension at the Labor Party’s national meeting in 1981 concerns the office of party chairman. In “Makta” we meet Reiulf Steen, who is under heavy pressure to resign as chairman. Was he pushed out? Jan Gunnar Røise in the role of Reiulf Steen under pressure. Photo: Motlys There is no doubt that Reiulf Steen experienced it this way. It was a demanding situation for him, and for the party. Rumors spread, large parts of the press speculated about a departure. Steen biographer Hans Olav Lahlum writes that it is not difficult to understand that Steen felt pressured out of the party. What made it extra difficult for Steen was that his friend Einar Gerhardsen helped push him out of the party leadership. Did Einar Gerhardsen give an interview from the hospital bed? Erik Hivju as Einar Gerhardsen. The former prime minister triggered a major drama just before the national meeting in 1981. Photo: Motlys Yes. The interview was done just before the national party meeting, and the “father of the country” said in plain text from his sickbed that Steen should resign. Einar Gerhardsen thought Gro had to take over the chairmanship. The interview was never published, and is probably Norway’s best-known unpublished interview. It was only to be printed if Steen refused to step back. In the series, we see Einar Gerhardsen pulling the strings while he is in hospital. Photo: Motlys Reiulf Steen was allowed to read the interview. He took it badly, and said this was the worst he had ever been exposed to. It led to a long-standing rift between him and Gerhardsen, it led to a long-standing bitterness with Reiulf Steen, and it led to Steen resigning as party chairman. The real Reiulf Steen smiles at Gro Harlem Brundtland. The smile is only on the surface. Deep down, Steen feels pressured out by the party leadership. Photo: news What is this about Ap and all-singing? Sing-along for real. Thorbjørn Berntsen and Gro Harlem Brundtland lead the way when the entire national assembly sings “The International”. Photo: news The episode starts with real images from the Labor Party’s national meeting in 1981, where they sing “The International”. Thorbjørn Berntsen leads the way with resourcefulness and power. This is a tradition in the Labor Party. Traditionally, they have had their own song culture, and it was quite common to sing workers’ songs together at the meetings. Watch Gro Harlem Brundtland and Odvar Nordli sing: “Thousands support our cause so be proud and stand tall! Hold each other’s hands – and hold”. It is also tradition to hold each other’s hands in the last verse of “Take each other in the hand and hold”. There is no doubt that the Labor Party has sung a lot in party contexts. The party is still no stranger to singing at the top of their lungs, even if they sing less now than before. Did Einar Førde forge a membership card in LO? In the series, we see Einar Førde making his own LO membership card. Photo: Motlys In the series, we see Einar Førde create his own membership card in LO. It happened? At least it is true that he took a Spanish one to get a membership card! Right must still be right, he didn’t make it himself. The background was that several grumbled because Einar Førde was not a member of LO. The grumbling could destroy Førde’s ambitions to become deputy leader. Thus, Førde’s supporters contacted the chairman of the Labor Party’s Press Association, Alf Hildrum. Hildrum arranged a membership card and backdated it a few years. After all, Førde had previously worked for Arbeiderbladet. Since the Labor Party’s Press Association was part of LO, the matter was resolved. Did Gro shout “to battle, comrades” to a statue? Martin Tranmæl was a prominent figure in the Labor Party. In “Makta”, Gro practices shouting “to battle, comrades” in front of his statue. Photo: Motlys In the series, we see Gro Harlem Brundtland practicing saying “to battle, comrades”. Among other things, she roars in front of a statue of Martin Tranmæl. It could not have happened like that in reality. The National Assembly was in a completely different place, with no statue of Martin Tranmæl nearby. Martin Tranmæl stands on a plinth in Ski municipality, outside the Sørmarka conference hotel. It is a hotel with long roots in the labor movement, Sørmarka has been both a workers’ college and a trustees’ school run by LO. Nevertheless, it was not here that the Labor Party held its national meeting in 1981. The national meeting was held in Hamar. Did Einar Førde take over the post of deputy leader? Einar Førde with Ap’s principle program in “Makta”. Photo: Motlys In 1981, the core of power in the Labor Party wanted Gunnar Berge to become deputy leader. At the national meeting, the battle was between Gunnar Berge and Einar Førde, a battle Einar Førde ended up winning. If it was a coup? Well. Einar Førde at least carried out a successful campaign within the party to gain support for his candidacy. He extended a hand to the women, AUF and also gained strength in LO with him. Watch Einar Førde talk about what the labor movement has achieved. The national meeting in 1981 was also Einar Førde’s breakthrough as a top politician in the Labor Party. The speech he gave to the national meeting remains one of the truly great speeches in the labor movement. The vote ended with 163 votes for Einar Førde, and 138 votes for Gunnar Berge. Did Gunnar Berge really have no ambitions? New character! André Sørum in the role of Gunnar Berge. Photo: Motlys In “Makta”, Gunnar Berge is described as a gray shadow without ambitions. In reality, he was a completely different type. The truth is that Gunnar Berge was one of the most influential people in the Labor Party for a number of years. While Gro Harlem Brundtland was party leader, Gunnar Berge was a trusted collaborator. Gunnar Berge in an interview with news in the early 1980s. Photo: news Haven’t you heard of Gunnar Berge? It is perhaps because he is described as a person who would rather listen and learn than speak himself. He was a respected finance politician, and also finance minister during a demanding period. He is often singled out as a man you could always talk to, regardless of which party you belonged to. Watch episode 8 here: Hear more about the drama in “Seriesnakk”: Source list: Frank Rossarvik: “Stick i Strid. A biography of Einar Førde”. Tor Obrestad: “Einar Førde. A biography”. Hans Olav Lahlum: “Reiulf Steen – the story, the triumphs and the tragedies”, Gro Harlem Brundtland: “My life: 1939–1986”, Steinar Hansson and Ingolf Håkon Teigene: “Power and the fall of men – the story of Gro Harlem Brundtland”. Store Norske Leksikon, Dagbladet, VG, Altaposten, news, AUF, Sørmarka.no.
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Makta episode 8 – news Culture and entertainment
