Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (63) can today mark ten years of leadership in the Labor Party. In the early summer of 2014, it was still less than a year since Stoltenberg lost government power and it was still possible to imagine that Støre, who took over a party with over 30 percent support, could become prime minister in 2017. It did not work out that way. Jonas Gahr Støre had been Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Health in Jens Stoltenberg’s government. In June 2014, he took over as party leader after Stoltenberg. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB scanpix With the exception of the first three years, there has been a continuous state of emergency in one or more areas, inside or outside the party. Therefore, the story of Støre’s leadership is a story as much about how he has handled things as what he has accomplished politically. “Events, my boy!” -Events, my boy, a British prime minister is said to have sighed when he was asked what was the most troublesome during his reign. It is understandable if Støre feels the same way. The incidents have marked Støre’s leadership, more than he has managed to leave his mark on the Labor Party. In 2017, a bad election and mismanaged election campaign turned into a Giske conflict and a crippling Me Too settlement and deputy chairperson conflicts. Then pandemic, expensive times, energy crisis and war have characterized large parts of the last ten years. To such an extent that Støre has hardly had a “normal year”, despite ten years as party leader. But all managers get events in their laps. Then it is about how the manager handles them. A recurring feature has often been that Støre has often realized the seriousness and adapted too late. He has fallen behind and that has had the effect of finally doing something right. In the 2017 election campaign, Ap talked about unemployment not being as extensive a problem as the party’s rhetoric made it out to be. The timing was wrong. In the internal Giske case, it took time before Støre realized the scope and seriousness and, not least, took action. When the electricity crisis hit, the government assessed the situation carefully. In the end, the power support scheme was very good, without increasing support. All cabinet scandals show something of the same, even those that are handled in cash: The incidents become bigger than themselves and overshadow a political message and blame the boss for it all. The Giske case might have been handled more clearly earlier if Støre himself had realized that the case had the power to grow in scope and paralyze the party. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix Better in Gaza than Giske Støre’s analytical and strategic abilities. His leadership qualities have come to their best in foreign policy. He himself is very concerned with some fateful days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the halt in gas exports. His efforts for the country in Europe to secure Norwegian gas contracts and prevent a stamp as war profiteers and something close to political isolation were important for Norway. His leadership as prime minister at a time when domestic politics and foreign policy have merged more than at any time in decades has borne more fruit for the country than both he and the party have repaid for. His reading of Russia, understanding of the northern regions and ability to maneuver on the international stage have been important. With Ukraine and the Middle East, trade policy and energy policy, Støre has had to navigate a demanding political landscape. Landing a Nansen agreement and defense plan will remain from his era, again more for the country than the party. Ap’s best election under Støre was the municipal election in 2015 (33.0 per cent), which is also the only election during his leadership where the party has made progress since the previous election. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix Effective labels When Støre took over the country’s largest party, he was a success as foreign minister and a new and admired type of politician in the Norwegian debate. Reasoning, well-read, compromise-oriented, pragmatic, diplomatic in form. Whether he is a victim of the ravages of time, or effective labels, can certainly be debated. Much of the mist prince-wobble criticism is strange and undeserved. At the same time, it worked because many felt it hit. The caricature of Støre as a rich and foreign bird in the labor movement resonates with far more people than the main opponents. The closer you get to Støre, the more you see that there are sides to his mood, radiance and understanding that do not always come through in meetings with voters on the street or through the TV screen. The years as a Storting politician and opposition leader were demanding and occasionally marked by uncertain communication and political positioning. At the same time, Støre becomes a contrast to a harsher debate climate, growing wing parties and a political reality where unifying middle ground has not had the same fertile ground as in the past. It has not only affected Ap in Norway, but social democratic governing parties in a number of countries. There is an argument that the leader is not solely to blame for halving support in ten years. In last year’s municipal election campaign, Støre raised his hand as the only party leader to indicate that he believes Norway will achieve the climate goals in 2030. The first thing he did as Labor Party leader ten years ago was to set up a climate committee that he himself chaired. Raise your hand It is uncertain whether there is a single political case left after Støre, precisely because of everything that has had to be handled. But he has been involved in moving AP’s climate policy over the past ten years. In his time, Labor has tightened climate targets, reversed oil exploration in the Lofoten case and he has lifted the climate issue from quotas abroad to “framework for all politics”. In this way, he built comprehensive solutions between the trade union movement and climate youth. Critics will say that this is a societal change, but it has just as fully happened during Støre’s leadership, desired and initiated by the party leader himself. At the same time, Støre has stuck to a recognizable work and welfare policy as party leader. Politically, he has moved to the left on climate and immigration, but also towards the center in recent times. Ap has been searching under Støre. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB The heir and the offspring Jonas Gahr Støre took over Ap without struggle or conflict. In isolation, a good thing for both him and the party. Many see Støre as a continuation of Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jens Stoltenberg’s Ap. The two “golden boys of Gro” have continued a social democratic administrative “safe governance” tradition. A significant difference, however, is the party’s history and the path to the leadership position: Stoltenberg fought for power, Støre inherited it and was awarded the leadership position. Thus there were not many, but the right ones, who fiercely fought for him. Stoltenberg’s upbringing in the party gave him total control over the party and the internal landscape. It often seems that Støre stands unnecessarily alone in the party. Støre has paved the way and provided space and opportunities for a new generation of Labor politicians. Not only the deputy leaders Tonje Brenna and Jan-Christian Vestre, but also several of the ministers are from the “Utøya generation” and politicians who will shape the party for many years after Støre. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB When he has shown who is the boss, he has profited from it internally and externally. Like when he protected the party secretary or got rid of the health minister. Many of the scandals and incidents have at the same time opened up what is perhaps the most important long-term thing Støre has done for Ap: To a greater extent than Stoltenberg, he has cultivated a new generation of politicians who are ready to lead the party forward. Støre has given the Utøya generation power and responsibility. It is an important managerial task to ensure future growth. Statesman more than party leader On Støre’s tenth anniversary as party leader, the party has power, but does so too weakly in the polls. He eventually succeeded in bringing Ap back into power, but not to a red-green majority government which was the goal. The downturn and losing its position as the country’s largest party in elections will define much of the change of tack that has occurred during his leadership. The formidable downturn not only defines Støre, but the entire history of the party and the Norwegian political landscape. With facts and pictures, Støre told those who wanted to hear about how he climbed the highly valued Hallingskarvet (1905 m.) when he decided to become party leader. But everything afterwards didn’t have to be a downer. In autumn 2016, Støre started his first election campaign as party leader. The picture is from a ferry quay in western Norway where Støre toured to talk about the oil crisis, unemployment and that Solberg had to lose the election. Photo: Lars Nehru Sand Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre was born on 25 August 1960. He is married to Marit Slagsvold and has three children. Støre was educated at the Naval Command School at the Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen 1979–1981 and then trained as a political scientist with a specialization in history and social economy at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris in France 1981–1985. In the years 1989 to 1995, he was employed by the Prime Minister’s Office’s civil service. He accompanied Gro Harlem Brundtland to the World Health Organization in 1998-2000. Jonas Gahr Støre was Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jens Stoltenberg’s second government from 2005 to 2012 and then Minister of Health and Care from 2012 until the change of government in 2013. He was State Secretary and Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office from 2000 to 2001, chairman of Econ Analyze in 2002 to 2003 and secretary general in the Norwegian Red Cross from 2003 to 2005. Støre became party leader in the Labor Party in 2014 and has been a parliamentary representative for Oslo since 2009. Jonas Gahr Støre became prime minister on 14 October 2021. Published 14.06.2024, at 09.18
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