– I can drive from home to the mailbox, and maybe a trip to the store, then I have to drive home again, says Jan Dyb. He is sitting in the car at a petrol station in Molde. Fuel prices are shining on him. NOK 27.37 for one liter of petrol. – I am a minimum pensioner and have a disabled car, but I do not have the opportunity to fill. Dyb has a disability and is completely dependent on the car to get around. – The only opportunity I have to get out is this car. When I look at these prices here, I do not get out anymore. Dyb says he is much alone in his own home. He has to use a car to get out and see people. Photo: Roar Strøm / NRK Now he asks the authorities to come on the field. – Those who govern must subsidize so that those who have little have the opportunity to fill. Something has to be done. You can not live with this. Calls for an explanation On Tuesday, the price of petrol went up by NOK 27 per liter in several places. It is the highest ever. Now the government is being criticized by its own people. – One can sometimes wonder if the Storting and the government think Norwegians drive a car just for fun, and through taxes should keep the use down. Most of us drive because we have to. There is no other option. The same applies to all commercial transport, says Ivar Kvalen (Sp). He is mayor of Vestlandskommunen Luster. Kvalen believes that the government must at least look at measures and come up with an explanation. – There is a lack of good explanations for why the fuel price should be so insanely high. Ivar Kvalen is mayor of Luster municipality in the inner parish. Now he is calling for an explanation from his own party leader. Photo: Sondre Dalaker / NRK Demands lower petrol price SP mayor in Ørsta, Stein Aam, was in a meeting with Trygve Slagsvold Vedum yesterday. Aam says Vedum talked about the government having room for maneuver that provides the opportunity to cut taxes by up to 5.2 kroner per liter plus VAT. Now he gives a clear message: – I demand action. Now there has been enough talk. We have come to 28-29 kroner. The business community is suffering and families with children have problems getting their children to drive to activities. Now something must happen, says Aam. He believes that the whole of District Norway must stand behind the demand of the government. Center Party veteran Stein Aam is mayor of Ørsta municipality. He is ready to speak when he meets NRK at one of the petrol stations in the village. He believes that the Minister of Finance will respond by cutting taxes. Photo: Idun Aalbu Rasmussen / NRK The Center Party also has the mayor of the neighboring municipality, Stranda. – This is a battle the Center Party must win in government, says Jan Ove Tryggestad. He believes that the credibility as a district party is at stake and that the high prices break with promises the party made in the election campaign. – Probably needs more time The Ministry of Finance informs NRK that neither the Minister of Finance nor anyone else in the ministry has the opportunity to be interviewed about fuel prices now. But at the LO congress in Oslo, we get the boss of Vedum to speak. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) says the prices show an energy system that is in disarray. – We can hope it will be a development that takes prices down, because this affects people, families and business, says Støre. – What will the government do to help? – We do not have immediate measures that will do anything with those prices. – In Sweden, have they taken the step of cutting taxes? – Yes, we have no plans for that, but we follow developments closely. The prices have been very much up and down, so we probably need more time to see how the picture looks. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met the press after he had visited the LO congress on Wednesday. He was aware that the government does not have immediate measures to cut fuel prices. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
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Mayors in the Center Party demand that Vedum reduce fuel prices – NRK Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
