Day-to-day manager Kristin Helle-Valle at Litteraturhuset in Bergen is not satisfied with the government’s proposal for the state budget for 2024. – So, there is no point in calling this a literature house anymore, if we don’t have the money to fill it with literary activities . Annually, there are around 350 events in this literature house. In 2023, Helle-Valle will receive NOK 4.2 million from the Ministry of Culture. Next year, the Ministry of Culture will reduce the licensing amount to 2.8 million. – In a state budget, this is peanuts, but for us it is absolutely decisive. Then I have nothing to program for. We can’t even put up with a house where things don’t happen, says Helle-Valle. She says the budget proposal from the government will lead to major cuts in public content. – We have large expenses related to our program activity, and that is the only place we can cut. I’m just pissed off. It is so unreasonable, believes Helle-Valle. More money, but less value The Government has set aside NOK 24.5 billion for cultural and equality purposes in the national budget. This is an increase of close to 1.2 billion from this year. The government calls it the largest cultural budget ever. But there are reactions, including from the Artists’ Network, which brings together organizations with more than 30,000 members. – Yes, the budget is increasing in kroner and øre. But one assumes wage and price growth which is probably far too low. Then the money won’t be enough, and the cultural institutions will have to switch to austerity measures. Ole Henrik Antonsen says so. He is the leader of the Artists’ Network and chairman of the Norwegian association for composers and lyricists. – The government has promised cultural life one percent of the state budget, but goes the wrong way every year, says Ole Henrik Antonsen in the Artists’ Network. Photo: Anne Valeur – Løftebrot Antonsen refers to what the Labor Party and the Center Party promised in the government declaration, the so-called Hurdal platform: “The government will gradually increase culture’s share of the state budget to one percent.” – On Friday, Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery did not mention 1 per cent at all. With the budget in hand, we can state that we are no closer to the goal. On the contrary, says Antonsen. He points out that the share that goes to culture in the city is decreasing. According to calculations made by Creo, 0.846 percent of the proposed state budget for 2024 goes to culture. This is a decrease from 0.869 per cent in 2023 and 0.883 per cent in 2022. Which was again a decrease from the Solberg government’s balanced 2021 budget. – The budget proposal for next year is a broken promise. Every year the government has moved further and further away from one per cent. Now there is actually only one state budget left in this parliamentary term. If the Støre government intends to fulfill its promise, it is urgent. He says the artists now fear for their jobs. – They fear that it will lead to fewer assignments, less work and less income in a world where everything is becoming more expensive. Minister of Culture: – The criticism is not surprising Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery (Ap) rejects the criticism. – This is a cultural budget that covers art and culture both broadly and narrowly, and safeguards the economy of artists. – Why are more people disappointed, then? – I am not surprised. That’s how it always is. We should always have had more money for culture. The increase is 2.5 per cent compared to last year. For the rest of the state budget, it is 0.7 per cent, so the culture budget is one of the winners. Among other things, she points out that many of the members of the Artists Network have received increased subsidies. And she agrees that it is precisely in difficult times that cultural experiences are important. – In the times we live in, we need more art and culture. When times are bad, I have to spend money on this. Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery believes cultural life is a budget winner, and says the promise of one per cent stands as a long-term goal. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news That the government is moving away from the promise that one percent of the state budget should go to cultural purposes, Jaffery comments as follows: – This is the government’s long-term goal. Now there is a demanding situation with expensive times and inflation, and war on the European continent. But the goal of having a cultural boost stands by.
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