This morning the Conservative Party leader embarked on an extensive tour of Rogaland and Vestland. In a couple of short morning hours, the leader of the Conservative Party managed to visit an election campaign in Stavanger and a visit to a day care facility for the demented at Torvholen farm in Klepp municipality on Jæren. – Our goal is to double the number of mayors and to do well in order to take over power in several of the big cities, says Erna Solberg to news in the “tour bus” that takes her around the west. When the journey ends in his hometown of Bergen on Saturday, there are exactly 100 days left until the election. But even with soaring support in the national surveys, it is far from certain that Erna Solberg will achieve her goals of more than 70 mayors and blue cities this autumn. VISIT: Erna Solberg today visited the day care for the demented at Torvholen farm, where she was shown around by Marit and Arthur Salte. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news Can create chaos For small parties such as the Pensioners’ Party, the Industrial and Business Party, the National Democrats and the Bergen List all steal voters from the established parties on the bourgeois side – and thus make the situation more unclear and fragmented. This applies above all in the big cities. According to news’s recent polls, the small parties are in with mandates in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim. And no one has forgotten the Toll Party’s by-elections in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo 2019. – What is the realism in achieving the goals of the Conservative Party? – Right now we are well positioned in some of the big cities to be able to take them back. And then we are very close to the red-greens in several municipalities, such as Trondheim and Oslo, says Solberg, and adds: – Then we know that it is about the ability to mobilize on election day. And it is about the ability to cooperate with others. TJUVSTART: Erna Solberg set out early today on an extensive tour, starting in Klepp på Jæren. Photo: Trond Stenersen / news Solberg says she will not be disappointed even if the Conservatives do not see support of up to 30 per cent in the election. The most important thing for her is a change of power in municipalities and counties, which she also knows depends on the cooperation parties’ support. Trouble with Høyre’s naturally cooperative parties on the bourgeois side could also frustrate Solberg’s goals. It can also be the simple fact that there are often other issues that dominate and decide local elections than parliamentary elections. Then there are the cannibals, then – those who eat from the big ones in the same political landscape and thus contribute to the fragmentation of local politics and unsettled majorities. DAIRY POLICY: Erna Solberg heard the story of the Q dairies, which are dismayed by the government’s proposal to tighten the financial support that ensures competition in the sector. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo Warning Erna Solberg has a warning to offer: – In some municipalities it will be important that we simply appeal to create a governing majority. We have had some cities that have had very complicated local political conditions in recent years. – What do you have to say to those who are considering voting for the Pensioners’ Party, the Industrial and Business Party, the National Democrats or the Bergen List? DAIRY CRITIC: Erna Solberg visits the Q dairies. Both the Conservative Party leader and the milk producer fear weakened competition as a result of the government’s latest move. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo – I think you should vote for the party you most agree with. But it is clear that you also have to think through whether you contribute to a governing majority, she says – and warns against pure protest votes: – You have to think through the following: Is it the case that the party you vote for can actually have a policy for local politics to make your municipality better? – There is a small warning here? – There is a danger of fragmentation. We have seen some municipalities where it has been difficult to get a governing majority. It can create somewhat uneasy conditions in local politics, says Solberg. – Has the Right got in shape too early? – I have been asked that for a whole year. Because we have been very stable for a very long time in these opinion polls. And it’s not like you can adapt it exactly to a choice. ELECTION CAMPAIGN START: Erna Solberg met with voters in central Stavanger this morning. Photo: Johan Mihle Laugaland / news – Uniquely good situation But uncertainty notwithstanding: Election researcher Johannes Bergh at the Institute for Social Research has no doubt that the Conservative Party has a very good starting point ahead of the election. – It is a uniquely good situation for the Right. It is comparable to the situation in the 80s with the Right-wing wave, when the party was above 30 per cent, he says to news. The research leader points out that the Conservative Party has grown greatly in the polls, at the expense of the government parties Ap and Sp. – Some of those voters have gone to the Right. But voters are less loyal and more likely to switch parties than they were in the past. It is a possible challenge for the Conservative Party, he says, and adds: – If the situation changes in Norwegian politics, the Conservative Party cannot take those voters for granted. – They can also disappear in the opposite direction…? – Exactly. It has always been the case that you can make a bit of money from being in opposition. But the voters move more quickly and to a much greater extent now than before, says Bergh. – The good news for the Conservative Party is that if the voters are going to leave the party, they will do so for a reason. And a fairly stable situation in Norwegian politics right now. Big cities in play But Solberg and the Conservative Party have a big job ahead of them if they are to achieve their goals. Because after the last local election, Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Drammen, Sandnes and Tromsø all have mayors from the Labor Party. The largest Right-wing municipalities are today Asker, Bærum, Sandefjord and Larvik. 102 days before the election, this is the situation in the three largest Norwegian cities: Oslo: Despite the disastrous numbers for the Labor Party and cheering numbers for the Conservative Party, it is very even between the blocks in the last three surveys. news’s recent survey showed that the red-green majority was gone, and that small parties such as the Norwegian Democrats and the Industrial and Business Party can tilt the majority. Bergen: Strong growth for the Conservative Party, which in addition to the FRP will have to court the Left, KrF or MDG to get a majority, news’s recent survey showed. Trondheim: Høyre forward and Ap strongly back, but both parties are dependent on many others to get a majority, news’s latest poll showed. The pensioners’ party in with two mandates. Johannes Bergh’s assessment today is that, as of today, there are very even elections in Oslo and Trondheim, but that a bourgeois victory is more likely in Bergen and not least in Stavanger. – In Kristiansand too, there may be a change, he notes. Bergh largely attributes the “right-wing wave” nationally to dissatisfaction with the incumbent government parties and an experience of a lack of governance skills. – The vast majority were satisfied with the handling of the pandemic, which was the overriding issue for Erna Solberg’s government in the last year and a half. That is probably what characterizes the voters’ view of the Conservative Party to a greater extent than much else, he says. And although the Conservative Party is flying high now, the support for the two major parties on the right, namely the Conservative Party and the FRP, is not collectively that much greater than a kind of “normal”, according to Bergh. – The right-wing in Norwegian politics constitutes a significant power factor and a significant share of the electorate, fairly stable, around 40 per cent. HOME TRACK: Erna Solberg and members of Stavanger Conservative Party today. Photo: Johan Mihle Laugaland / news
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Solberg is threatened by political cannibals – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
