An accident rarely occurs alone. This statement best describes the state of the Labor Party today. The word accident can be changed to crisis. It’s a double whammy for AB.
On Wednesday evening, a horror poll was released that shows Ap historically at its worst support. 16.9 percent is the figure. The following evening, the App camp was completely engulfed in flames. In the NRK program Debate, AUF leader Astrid Hoem went at the throat of former Ap deputy leader Trond Giske, who according to Hoem is part of the Labor Party’s problem.
On NRK’s Politisk kvarter on Friday morning, Home Labor Party leader Jonas Gar received clear support from Storr. “I think she’s absolutely right. I understand what Astrid Holm is saying on behalf of young people, but so do many in the Labor Party. We have a serious case behind us and there’s no point in forgetting it,” Storr said. App leader pointed out that it is how one behaves in the party.
Storr shot himself in the foot.
The problem with the Labor Party is weak support. Confidence in Støre & co has plummeted since Ap and Sp formed a government last fall. There is a crisis for both the parties. Former Ap and SP voters are flocking to the fence and many are fleeing to the Conservatives. The SP received 5.3 percent in the latest poll for FriFagbevegelse and Dagsavisen. As mentioned, Labor gets 16.9 percent for the poor.
While the Social Democrats have been making gains in recent elections in both Sweden and Denmark, the Labor Party has been losing significant ground in Norway. The Social Democrats in Sweden won the Riksdag election in September with 30.3 percent, and the following month in Denmark, 27.5 percent voted for the Social Democrats.
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The war in Ukraine, expensive electricity, high inflation and rising interest rates are factors affecting the economies of most people in the three Scandinavian countries with almost equal force. Other factors must have been the main reason why the Storr government lost confidence.
I think most of the explanation lies in the fact that huge expectations were created ahead of last year’s general election. Another reason is that Norway has enormous oil resources, combined with a tight state budget for 2023. Many Norwegians believe they can use more oil money without prices and interest rates spiraling out of control. But the rent is not trivial. History should have taught us that.
The app is under attack from all sides. The party is in a political dilemma with rivals on both sides. Active leftists are challenging on one side, while conservatives sit quietly in the boat on the opposite side. At the same time, the NHO is on the warpath against plans for increased taxes.
[ Hege Ulstein: 16,9. Det tallet bør skremme vettet av Ap. ]
In this situation, AUF leader Astrid Holm makes matters worse in a strong emotional front attack on Trond Giske. She certainly had a political message as well, but it got bogged down in trying to stop Giske as a person.
Ap leader Jonas Gahr Støre added more fuel to the fire in the Politisk kvarter by pointing directly to Giske’s past behavior – thereby implying that the former Ap vice-president was part of the problem. In a desperate attempt to protect the AUF leader, Storr shot himself in the foot. Now the Ap leader is weakened.
The store should have used the opportunity to call for unity instead. Notably, party secretary Gerstie Stenseng is somewhat consistent in her approach. She denies that Kiske is a problem.
[ Jo Moen Bredeveien: SV har et problem som heter Rødt. Og et annet som heter Ap. ]
Kiske leads Nitaro’s Social Democratic Forum, which has quickly grown into the country’s largest labor party with 1,400 members. “These are welcome members in the Ap. They work for the same values as everyone else in the Ap,” Stenseng tells the Klassekampben newspaper. He then adds exemplary: “We must stand together as a team”.
In this sense, Ap vice-president Bjørnar Skjæran was wise to stand up for the debate at the Tranmæl festival recently organized by the Nidaros group in Trondheim. The visit to Nidaros is a key indication of Labour’s challenges.
Giske’s case naturally produced deep lesions within the Ap. These will take time to heal. The remedy is a little generosity on both sides. But the opposite happens. Wounds are torn again instead.
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Trond Giske is neither the problem nor the solution to Ap. But 1,400 Nidaros members must be taken seriously. Labor leadership should build bridges to all sections in the party. Only this way the app can grow back to its normal height. Therefore, building a wall against the Nidaros camp would be a very unwise move.
It was a great thought that Nitaros immediately gained 200 new members after the battle between Trond Giske and Astrid Hoem. Nitaros members are true social democrats like the AUF gang.
[ Ta ansvar for krisen, Kjerkol ]
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