The evaluation was presented to the party’s central board as late as 20 May and has in addition only been sent to KrF’s national board. news has gained access to the 25-page report «Election campaign evaluation 2021. Analyzes, engagement and mobilization against the corona, commuter housing and the barrier limit». With the exception that Ropstad’s housing root is highlighted, criticism of the party leaders shines through with their absence in the evaluation. The role of KrF’s general secretary Geir Morten Nilsen, who was absolutely central before and during the election campaign, is not mentioned in a single word. Neither Nilsen nor party leader Olaug Bollestad have the opportunity to be interviewed by news, but Nilsen answers the following in an e-mail: – The election campaign evaluation is a review of the planning and implementation of the election campaign. I am responsible for this. The report refers to a number of learning points that I take with me. The report reviews the choices that were made, how the election campaign was conducted and what experiences were made. How KrF handled the abortion case when it came up is also mentioned. – In other respects, a key element in the evaluation is that the election campaign was marked by a party organization that mobilized strongly throughout the country. It has been important for me to highlight the very strong efforts of shop stewards in this election campaign, says Nilsen. TOP TRIO: Former deputy leader Ingelin Noresjø (left), KrF leader Olaug Bollestad and general secretary Geir Morten Nilsen during KrF’s national meeting last autumn. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Points to Ropstad The report is to a small extent critical of the elections that were made and «does not intend to explain the election result as such». But it goes a long way in drawing a conclusion about what made KrF for the first time since the war ended up below the threshold: September 5 – just over a week before the election – Aftenposten revealed that the then KrF leader Kjell Ingolf Ropstad had received commuter housing by have an address at the parents’ home. On 13 September, KrF ended up below the threshold with 3.8 per cent of the votes in the election. “It is not possible to know for sure, but there is reason to believe that this case was an important reason for declining polls in the last week before the election,” the report states. On 18 September, Ropstad resigned as party leader and minister in the outgoing Solberg government. Was above the threshold The basis for the conclusion in KrF’s evaluation is analyzes of the support in the weeks before the election. It emerged that KrF rose from an average of 3.4 percent in the last two years, to over 4 percent in the last weeks leading up to the election. KrF also refers to news’s super measurement, which was recorded between 1 and 10 September. There, KrF received support from 4.2 percent of voters. “In the last week before the election, the polls are going down. Uncertain voters often make decisions during these days, and KrF rarely manages to get a large proportion of these voters, “the report states. “At the same time, there was also the case of commuter housing where KrF was the only exposed party before the election, cases about other party leaders came only after election day.” The commuter housing case also had a direct impact on KrF’s election campaign. The party’s people wanted information and answers, but “handling centrally and the nature of the case meant that it was not possible to cover this wish fully”. RESPONSIBLE: Secretary General Geir Morten Nilsen is responsible for the election campaign evaluation in KrF. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB «The nature of the case and the increased need for information meant that in some places there was uncertainty and reduced motivation to mobilize in the last days of the election campaign». In the sprint, KrF saw hope of clearing the barrier limit, but this did not happen. “The disappointment became all the greater when election night came and the arrow stopped at 3.8. KrF came below the barrier limit ». To news, Secretary General Nilsen says this about the significance of the Ropstad case. – KrF’s support increased in the months before the election, but last week the polls went down slightly again. There are many factors that affect this. It is not possible to know for sure, but our assessment is that the issue of commuter housing received a lot of attention at the same time as KrF did not have the opportunity to front our policy, and that it was one of the reasons for declining support the week before the election. The ministers “made a great effort” Although Ropstad’s housing mess is mentioned, the evaluation says little about the efforts of the party leaders in the time before the election. Last autumn, KrFs had four ministers: Party leader Ropstad was Minister for Children and Families, Deputy Leader Olaug Bollestad was Minister for Agriculture and Food, Dag Inge Ulstein was Minister for Development Aid and Knut Arild Hareide was Minister for Transport. “The ministers and their respective staffs made a great effort to profile the party in the election campaign,” it says. But it is pointed out that it was a “challenge” to coordinate the party office, the parliamentary secretariat, the party leader’s staff in government and four ministers spread across four ministries. “It is difficult to know whether better results could have been obtained through better and more comprehensive cooperation and coordination in the last phase,” it says. Dissatisfaction with abortion response The abortion debate exploded in the spring of 2021. This was due to several parties advocating a more liberal abortion law at their national meetings. “During the same period, the party made a leap in the polls,” it says in KrF’s evaluation. There was an internal debate in KrF, both about what the party should think about abortion, and about how it should handle the debate itself. In November last year, KrF conducted a survey among its members and received around 1,000 responses. The survey showed that many KrF members were not satisfied with the answers the party gave about abortion in the election campaign: More than half answered “neither or” or “do not know” to questions about whether KrF answered well about abortion. 9 per cent answered “completely agree” and 8 per cent “completely disagree”. Two out of three thought KrF should have talked about abortion in the election campaign – 22 percent the opposite. “There is thus a large proportion who are not satisfied with the answers the party had to give in these debates, and there is reason to believe that in this group there are both those who wanted to show greater support for current legislation, and those who wanted a stricter primary policy to be promoted to a greater extent ». KrF currently has a comprehensive wording on abortion in its program. KrF’s program formulation on abortion «KrF wants a new law which assumes that the fetus has human dignity, which is better adapted to developments in medical technology and which safeguards the fetus’ value and right to life, and the necessary safeguarding of women’s safety and health in a ethically sound manner. This must come as a result of a broad understanding of and adherence to a new, updated and more ethically sound law, a thorough public inquiry and a responsible legal process. ” In the evaluation, it is pointed out that KrF thus went to the polls “without unambiguous formulations about exactly what KrF wanted a possible new law to look like, but pointed out that a possible future legal process had to be clarified.” – A number of parties went to the polls on a significant extension of the abortion law and made this a topic in the election campaign. KrF is against such an expansion, and we argued for our view when we were asked about it, says Secretary General Nilsen to news. – The societal debate about life protection, unborn life and abortion is communication around demanding ethical dilemmas. For KrF, it will always be important how we can lift our perspectives in a good way. We work continuously with this, and we will also work with that towards future elections and election campaigns, says the KrF top.
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Pointing to Ropstad’s housing root – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
