MDG veteran Rasmus Hansson is thanking himself for the next election. He has a clear message about who will take over the post of Member of Parliament.
– The decision not to stand for re-election is very easy. I thought it all over. It's fun to try new things, something I've never tried before in retirement.
So says Rasmus Hansen, grand old man of the Green Party and first representative of the Storting.
– So I think it is good for the party to have an alternative venue and accommodate new people, he added.
Hanson has announced to the electoral commission in Oslo that he will not seek re-election. When he ends up at Storting in 2025, he can look back on two four-year terms at Storting, more or less reluctantly staying in between.
First, a little backstory:
When Rasmus Hansen was elected to the Storting in 2013, there was a bit of a stir. It is rare for a new party to come to power in a country's legislature.
At that time, the party had no party leader, but two national spokesmen, of whom Hanson was one.
In the next election, Hansen decided to run from Akershus instead of standing in the safe seat of Oslo. It was hoped that this would increase voter turnout in Akarshus, but it did not succeed. Hansen left Storting.
Une Bastholm became the party's only elected representative in the Storting during that period. In 2021, he was again elected as one of the three MDG representatives in the Storting.
However, there was a huge disappointment in the party when it missed the cut-off threshold by less than 2,000 votes to give them access to the valuable balancing mandates.
– successful as hell
Hansen believes the MDGs have achieved a lot, even if the direct impact on stocking has been limited.
– Development has largely followed the path we have indicated. It is often other parties who do what we propose and vote through it.
– Do you think the MDG succeeded in setting the agenda?
– The MDGs have been successful as hell. In setting and pulling the agenda and getting green changes in the Storting and Norwegian politics. It's been very successful, says Hanson.
He calls it a “somewhat inconvenient reality” that MDGs struggle with support.
– There should be a party leader
Hanson and Lon Marie Berg withdrew from politics, leaving two of MDG's supposedly safe seats vacant.
Hansen believes it is important that party leader Arild Hermstad takes the top spot.
After Une Bastholm's resignation in 2022, MDG is the only Storting party without its party leader in the Storting.
– It has nothing to do with it, it just turned out that way. But it is a situation that we must put an end to completely. It goes without saying that the party keeps its party leader in a safe place for everything. Anything else is self-harming, he believes.
Self harm or not. When Hermstad wanted to join the city council in Oslo, he had to go through a contested vote to get the second seat.
– Do you think the party agrees that he should be at the top of the list?
– I'm open to having different opinions about it. It is a healthy break, but my message is that the end result should be the MTG ensuring that the party leader comes, he says.
Former party leader Une Bastholm announced Thursday in Aftenposten that she will stand for re-election to Starting, and will run from Oslo.
More suv
Hanson's career was not without controversy and conflict, but he avoided major scandals.
But the MDG politician, who thought people should phase out fossil fuel cars and switch to bicycles and electric cars, went on to buy a diesel-powered SUV for which he was slapped. Not least because he said so VG He would be embarrassed to talk about environmental politics if he drove a big SUV.
He argued that driving an SUV until it breaks down is a better evidence policy than buying a new car.
– Do you still drive it?
– Yes I do. It's a nice car and it's still together. If this is my biggest scandal, I can live with it.
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