After Une Bastholm’s shock exit as MDG leader during Arendal Week in August, the party has been searching for her successor. And today the appointment from the election committee becomes known: Today’s acting party leader and long-time leader of Framtiden i våre hände, Arild Hermstad (55), is nominated as the new leader. Storting representative, former city councilor in Oslo and parliamentary leader, Lan Marie Berg (35), has been nominated as deputy leader. Trude Thy has led the selection committee. – We have placed emphasis on appointing a leadership that can be operative from day one and lead the party well, both through the election campaign next year and beyond, she says to news. If her proposal is supported, Hermstad and Berg will form the MDG leadership together with Ingrid Liland (32). She was elected deputy chairperson at the national meeting this spring. MDG elects a new party leadership at an extraordinary national meeting on 26 November. RESIGNATION: Une Bastholm resigned as MDG leader for personal reasons this autumn. Now Arild Hermstad can become her successor. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB – Must show more pages The election a year ago was a big setback for the MDGs. The party had a stated goal of a national breakthrough and 7 percent support, but the election night was brutal: MDG received support from 3.94 percent of the voters, ended up below the threshold and had to make do with three people’s representatives in the Storting. In a hard-hitting internal evaluation after the election, the conclusion was that the MDG politicians came across as crass, uncompromising, immature and single-tracked in the election campaign. The report stated that the political leadership became unclear, and that the oil ultimatum became too dominant. The party leadership stood behind the report – and now Hermstad says this about how he will lift the MDGs: – What is important for the party now is that we present several sides of our green policy, he says, and continues: – We are a solidarity party which of course values the environmental issue very highly, but which is also concerned with smoothing out the differences in Norway and taking care of those who are in vulnerable life situations. Hermstad highlights the need to create new, green and safe jobs. – On the way to a local election, it is also important for us to increase support and take power to create better towns and villages across the country, he says. Lan Marie Berg says this about what MDG learned from last year’s election campaign: – We learned that we must be much more prepared for the counter-narratives that are told about our politics. With a larger parliamentary group, we now have better opportunities than ever to show the breadth of our politics. Now the goal is to make local elections “at least as good” in 2023 as in 2019, explains Berg. Three years ago, the MDG received support from 6.8 percent of voters. – I think that it is possible both to be very uncompromising and clear on the environmental issue, while at the same time showing more of the MDG’s project and ideology. DEPUTY MANAGER? The election committee in MDG wants Lan Marie Berg into the party leadership. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Candidacy drawn That Hermstad has been appointed as the new leader is not surprising. He was Bastholm’s deputy when she was on maternity leave last year. He also led MDG together with Bastholm, before the party moved away from the arrangement with two national spokespersons two years ago. Lan Marie Berg has for a number of years been one of the party’s biggest profiles. Before the national meeting in 2020, she was nominated as deputy chairperson, but withdrew her candidacy shortly before the national meeting. And this spring, Berg did not want to stand for election as the post of deputy leader was again vacant. – What has changed now? – There are many things. In 2020 I had just had a child, and last year I was unfortunately on sick leave right around that election. The reason why I now want to apply is that it works better in my life, quite simply, says Berg to news. – Do you have an ambition to become party leader in the long term? – It may well be that I can become one, but right now I am very motivated to step into the role of deputy chairman. Berg has a long history in Oslo politics and became city councilor for the environment and transport in 2015. Last spring, however, the city council in Oslo voted no confidence in her, which led to the resignation of the entire city council. – Tough and visible The election committee’s leader Trude Thy describes Hermstad as a solid, confident and experienced leader, who is well known in the party and has a wide network of contacts. – He is also good at seeing and inspiring local teams and those who are new to politics, she says. – Lan is a raw politician. She is incredibly tough and very visible. Through her six years as a city councilor in Oslo and now in the Storting, she has managed to show what the MDGs can achieve when we get a hand on the wheel, says Thy. – Why has the selection committee not seen a need for a greater degree of renewal in the MDG leadership? – We think that continuity is very good. None of those who have been in the management have done anything wrong. They have done a good job so far, and we believe they can continue to do a good job. Then Lan is new to the management, so we also have a degree of renewal. – I feel very confident that this is the leadership the party wants, but it is up to the extraordinary national meeting to decide. Can be challenged A number of MDG profiles have signaled an interest in the post of party leader in the time since Bastholm’s departure. It may end up with the selection committee’s recommendation being met by bench proposals at the national meeting. Kristoffer Robin Haug appeared on news this autumn and said that he would like to become the new MDG leader. Natalia Golis has also announced that she wants to become the new party leader. In addition, both the current deputy leader Ingrid Liland and Sigrid Z. Heiberg, who is leader of Oslo MDG, said earlier this autumn that they are considering standing as leadership candidates. This spring there was a battle for several positions. Then Hermstad was re-elected as deputy in a battle against just Haug, with 125 to 78 votes. At the same time, Liland emerged victorious from the duel against Golis for the second place as deputy leader.
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