– Hello! You just have to let me know if you have any questions! Thor Are Herøy Knudsen from Hylkje in the north of Bergen folds party programs around ballot papers and tries to lure passers-by into the election booth on Torgallmenningen. – I have not been part of a political party before I signed up here, he says. The 30-year-old was one of those who voted for the party that ended up with an electoral landslide four years ago: Protestpartiet Folkekaksionen no til more tolls (FNB). Now he stands for another small party that is gaining more and more ground, namely the Industrial and Business Party (INP). – It was quite spontaneous that I actually signed up. The slogan “develop and not dismantle” hit me. I felt that I wanted to express my opinion and think it is important to be involved and contribute, says Knudsen. The Industrial and Business Party was founded in Rjukan on 29 February 2020. This year’s election is the first local election in which the party is represented. Says “enough is enough” to the People’s Party And new parties can hold snap elections in the municipalities, as the People’s Action no to more tolls did in 2019. Here FNB did best in 2019 Alver, Vestland: 22.1 per cent Bergen, Vestland: 16.7 percent Sola, Rogaland: 10.1 percent Stavanger, Rogaland: 9.2 percent Sandnes, Rogaland: 9.1 percent Øygarden, Vestland: 8.0 percent Askøy, Vestland: 8.0 percent Oslo, Oslo: 5.8 percent Klepp . In Alver, the party was the largest, and received 22.2 percent of the vote. In the city council in Bergen, the party got 11 representatives. The protests have now subsided, and support for the People’s Party is overall at 1.4 percentage points in a recent survey carried out by Norstat for news. The People’s Party has thus lost almost all the support it had in the areas where the party was strongest. – It is a typical fate of a one-issue party. They are unable to profile themselves more widely, and that issue disappears, says political scientist and election researcher Svein Tuastad. According to the poll, only 7.3 percent of those who voted FNB in 2019 will vote FP in this year’s election. But where are the protest votes going now? They are divided into several different parties: Party polling toll protests How will the voters vote in the municipal elections in areas where the People’s Action No to more tolls did well in the 2019 election. Polling in Alver, Askøy, Øygarden, Sola, and parts of Oslo, Stavanger, Sandnes, Bergen and Porsgrunn compared to the 2019 election result. +2.74.5%V+2.03.6%INP+3.63.5%KRF−2.11.7%PP+0.41.6%PS+1.61.4%FP−13 ,41,1%SP−6,03,0%Andre−1,5Click on the party circle to see the full party name. Based on 1048 interviews conducted in the period 17.8.23–22.8.23. Margins of error from 0.6–4.6 pp. Source: Norstat news’s tax protest survey Norstat, commissioned by news, has measured party support in municipalities and certain constituencies in larger municipalities where FNB did strongly last time. We have also asked voters some other questions. The aim was to get a picture of where the voters who made up the strong toll protest in 2019 are going now. We have asked a total of 1,050 voters in the municipalities of Alver, Askøy, Sola and Øygarden, in the districts of Alna and Stovner in Oslo, the constituencies of Hordvik, Nyborg and Ytre Arna in Bergen, the constituencies of Buøy/Hundvåg, Gausel and Kvernevik in Stavanger, Lura and Hana in Sandnes and Klevstrand/Herøya in Porsgrunn. In order to compare the results with 2019, Norstat has combined the votes the parties received in these municipalities and areas last time and estimated the total support the parties had here in 2019. In these areas, Norstat calculates that FNB (now the People’s Party) had 14.8% support in municipal elections in 2019. Now the result is 1.4. The Conservatives get back voters The voters in the areas where FNB was big in 2019 have a greater degree of trust in small parties than elsewhere. 11.3 per cent will vote for a party that is not sitting in the Storting today. The corresponding figure for Norway as a whole is 8.8 per cent. The MDG advances by 2.1 percentage points in these areas, while the latest national party barometer shows that the MDG in general in the country is going back a little. The Conservative Party advances by approximately 11 percentage points in these areas, which is an even greater progress than in the rest of the country. – The Conservative Party did shockingly badly in blue municipalities in 2019 because of the toll party. What we will see now is that the municipalities will be more like they were before the toll riots. Now the most important competitor is gone, says election researcher Tuastad. Political scientist and election researcher at the University of Stavanger, Svein Tuastad. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news INP has somewhat greater support in the areas than in the country in general, with 3.6 percentage points. – The INP and the toll party are made up of many of the same voters, says Tuastad and continues: – But the toll issue was a local issue linked to a rebellion against that particular issue. The INP has a much broader political profile with more conservative industrial voters who are against the green shift. Nevertheless, they are nowhere near having the same power that FNB had in 2019, with a support of 14.8 percentage points in the areas. The toll issue not completely gone When the respondents are reminded of the toll issue, just over half say that the issue is important or very important. In other words, the topic is not gone, but it is no longer decisive for voters. Frode Myrhol is party leader in the People’s Party. He thinks it is sad that they are not as strong as in 2019. – I am disappointed that the voters seem to be leaving us, he says. Frode Myrhol from the People’s Party (FNB) sits on the municipal council in Stavanger. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news He believes it is connected to the fact that many perceive them as a one-issue party. – People are more concerned with interest rates, electricity and food prices, and not as concerned with tolls as in 2019. In addition, we are a small party. – How do you see the future of the party? – It depends on the election result, but nothing can be compared to the success we had in 2019. If we are now entering a period where we are on the verge of bringing in one or two representatives, that does not mean the end of the party, he says. From list candidate in FNB to leader in INP In the district of Kvernevik in Stavanger, 14.1 per cent of voters voted for FNB four years ago. Jan Inge Selvik is leader of INP in Rogaland and top candidate in Stavanger, and has spent countless hours on the stand for INP. But four years ago he was on the list of FNB (now the People’s Party). – People were very tired of tolls in 2019. And the People’s Party probably won a lot of votes there. INP does not go out with one case, but a wide spectrum of many cases, says Selvik. Øystein Brendbo and Jan Inge Selvik in INP. Photo: Erik Waage / news Four years ago, it was the outer toll ring in Bergen that weighed heavily on Thor Are Herøy Knudsen in Bergen. – Do you regret voting for FNB? – It is not optimal with intrigues, but I would have regretted much more if I had not voted at all. FNB was what felt right to me at the time, says Knudsen. Herøy Knudsen believes that it is good to have done something other than being a professional politician. He believes that the requirement of five years’ work experience from something else is a good basic value. Photo: Agnieszka Iwanska / no
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The voters are spreading – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
