SV deputy leader Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes surprised everyone when he suddenly admitted on Tuesday that he is skeptical about becoming the new party leader. He met the press to answer questions related to the budget agreement with the governing parties. – Have you been so good at negotiating that it has increased your desire to become leader of SV? – I think it is unlikely that I will stand as leader of the party. I am skeptical, he replied. Fylkesnes has been one of the favorites to take over the leadership post in the party, after current leader Audun Lysbakken announced that he will not stand for re-election. Kaski and Bergstø point themselves out In recent days, news has been in contact with members of the central board and the national board of SV about who they want as the new party leader. The review shows that there are two names that stand out: Deputy leader Kirsti Bergstø and SV’s fiscal policy spokesperson Kari Elisabeth Kaski. But none of the leadership favorites have so far said whether they are a candidate for the leadership position or not. – No one has so far signed up as a leadership candidate. But we are in dialogue with several who are relevant, says the election committee’s chairman Pål Julius Skogholt. The deadline for proposing candidates expires on 20 December. The selection committee’s recommendation must be submitted by 1 February. A new leader after Audun Lysbakken will first be elected at the national meeting in mid-March. Audun Lysbakken announced earlier this autumn that he will not seek re-election as party leader in SV. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Points to Kaski Internally in SV, discussions are now raging about who should become the party’s next leader. The problem is that very few people know who actually plans to run. – Kaski is a capable politician who is highly trusted and popular. No one is as tough on Norway’s richest and as clear on tax havens as she is, says leader Synnøve Kronen Snyen in Socialist Youth. – Oslo SV believes that SV’s next leader should be Kari Elisabeth Kaski, says county leader Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll. SV’s fiscal spokeswoman Kari Elisabeth Kaski has a background in the environmental foundation Zero. She is currently on parental leave from her position as parliamentary representative. Photo: Alf Simensen / NTB National board member Kristian Takvam Kindt from Oslo is in line with his county leader and also points to Kaski. So does Eirik Faret Sakariassen, deputy representative to the central board and group leader in Stavanger SV: – I support Kari Elisabeth Kaski and really hope she will run. She is incredibly talented, a strong debater and has a clear profile that is both red and green, says Sakariassen. Three silent leadership favorites in SV SV deputy leader Kirsti Bergstø has a long tenure in the party and has served as party leader in Audun Lysbakken’s absence. Here during a break in the government probes in Hurdal, where she was also central. Photo: Ingunn Solheim / news Pointing to Bergstø – I flagged early on that my first candidate is Kirsti Bergstø, but I still don’t know if she has said she is willing to run, says national board member Heidi Larsen from Viken to news. – In any case, we have three very good candidates to choose from, if all three apply, she adds. Åshild Pettersen from Nordland is also among the national board members who prefer Kirsti Bergstø: – I have previously mentioned Kirsti Bergstø as a good candidate, but all three who are being speculated as candidates have good qualities and can do a good job for the party. Nordland SV as a county team has not yet made a decision on who we want to formally propose to the committee, she says. The international manager of SV, Gjermund Skaar, does the same: – It’s a bit early in the process, but I personally think Kirsti is a self-described candidate. Points to Fylkesnes Among the central board or national board members who have answered news’s questions, only Christian Torset from Nordland states Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes as his preferred candidate. – We have a luxury problem with the good names that have so far been discussed in the leadership election, says Torset and continues: – Personally, I would point to Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes as a man with good contact with the grassroots, insight into the challenges both in the districts and in the cities, with broad competence and good political flair, says Torset. – Scratch in the paint This week, VG revealed that SV deputy leader Fylkesnes has received a tax hit of NOK 477,000 in connection with the commuter housing cases at the Storting. – The tax matter should not mean anything. The Norwegian Tax Agency has regularly given the Storting’s administration feedback on how the tax rules should be understood, says Torset. National board member and SV veteran Heming Olaussen formulates himself as follows when the question is asked about Fylkesnes’ tax case: – Torgeir has had a small scratch in the paint, but I believe that the Storting’s administration must take the main blame, and that this case should not be a decisive argument against his candidacy . Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes is deputy leader of SV and central to several negotiations with the government, not least about the national budget. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Åshild Pettersen in Nordland SV also does not think it is reasonable to keep the tax case against him: – Our representatives have received guidance from the Storting and were in good faith that everything was done correctly. It is therefore unreasonable if this case is to be held against them, in any further context, she says. Marit Aklestad in Møre og Romsdal SV is on the same page, and says the tax case is primarily unfortunate for the Storting. – The representatives have followed advice from the Storting, and the case affects 38 representatives. Then it is unfortunate that it is the few who are open and honest in the matter, who have to take the brunt, while the rest avoid attention, she says.
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