– It is almost accepted that Hegre Bergen will win, but now, at the final speed, it is not certain that they can do it, “says NRK’s political critic Don Sofi Aklen.
For eight years, the Labor Party has been in power in Norway’s second largest city.
But in May, NRK’s poll showed strong signs of change.
The right-wing led and 34 percent of those asked would vote for the right-wing in September’s local elections in Bergen. City Council candidate Christine Meyer cheered.
Now, a week before the election, a new poll by NRK shows that the right has lost its lead.
See below the case for who the people of Bergen want for city council president.
Party Barometer Bergen September
What do voters vote for in municipal elections? Compared to NRK’s volume in May.
| Party | Support | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 28.0% |
|
−6.1 |
| 17.3% |
|
+1.1 |
| 11.9% |
|
+0.5 |
| 7.8% |
|
+0.9 |
| 7.5% |
|
+0.1 |
| 6.9% |
|
+1.9 |
| 6.0% |
|
−1.2 |
| 3.1% |
|
−0.4 |
| 2.6% |
|
+1.6 |
| 2.5% |
|
−0.3 |
| 1.6% |
|
−1.4 |
| 1.5% |
|
+1.0 |
| 1.0% |
|
+1.0 |
| 2.1% |
|
+1.1 |
1.2–4.5 pp.
Source: Norstad
Right back, left forward
The poll was carried out by Norstat for NRK and shows that fewer people will vote for Høgre compared to the May poll.
Many say they vote Labour, Center Party, Liberal Party and MDG.
This means the left could take city council power and Labor could have four new years with a man in red as city council leader.
– It’s nice to have metrics that point in the right direction. But it will be a thriller. “We are ready to retain power,” says Labor leader Rune Bakerwick of the latest figures.
The battle for city council is going strong in Bergen. The city council president simply explained that he was like the prime minister of the city he ruled over.
Rune Bakervik is the leader of the city council in Bergen of the Labor Party. He wants to stay in the city council for four more years and is satisfied with NRK’s poll.
Photo: Leif Rune Løland / NRK
The support party is still strong
There are 67 seats in the City Council known as Ordinances. A party must have at least 34 mandates to secure a majority behind the city council. It is very rare for a party to achieve this on its own.
Ordinance allocation by Bergen City Council
The September poll was compared to distribution after the 2019 election.
| ok | 19 | +5 |
| Labor Party | 12 | −1 |
| Socialist Left Party | 8 | +2 |
| Progress Party | 5 | +2 |
| left | 5 | +2 |
| Green Party | 5 | −2 |
| Red | 4 | +1 |
| Christian People’s Party | 2 | 0 |
| Central Party | 2 | −2 |
| Industry and Commerce Party | 2 | +2 |
| Bergen List | 1 | +1 |
| Pensioners Party | 1 | 0 |
| People’s Party | 1 | −10 |
1.2–4.5 pp.
Source: Norstad
The two largest parties, Høgre and Arbeidarpartiet, must cooperate with smaller parties to secure a majority.
In an NRK poll from May, Hegre won twice as many mandates as the Labor Party, 23 to 11, narrowing the path to civic cooperation.
Cooperation now appears to be more difficult, and Hoghre will have to meet several smaller parties, such as the Industrial and Commercial Party, if he is to achieve a majority.
Christine Mayer is working hard to get more people to vote.
Photo: Leif Rune Løland / NRK
– We still want to cooperate with KrF, Frp and Venstre. Now we need to work hard to get voters to the polls and vote for Hogre, says City Council candidate Christine Meyer.
If the poll wins, Labor could win 34 seats and a majority with Venstre, MDG, SV and Raudt.
A common denominator in both collaborations: Left. President Per-Arne Hvidsten Larsen does not rule out cooperation with some political parties.
– Politics will decide which party we will cooperate with. “We are interested in finding solutions to our political problems,” he said.
Per-Arne Hvidsten Larsen from Venstre is today the city councilor for finance, industry and property in Bergen. His party is up nearly two percentage points from the previous poll.
Photo: Simon S. Brandseth / Simon S. Brandseth / NRK
Confusion rage?
Don Sophie Aklen, a political commentator at NRK, says the polls show signs of four new years of political turmoil in Bergen.
– It is very difficult to see some obvious collaborations that will get a clear majority. This applies to both the capitalist party and the left.
Bergen’s political leadership has been marked by much unrest in recent years. At first the city council resigned as a result of the urban rail issue, but a new city council was soon installed.
The KrF later withdrew from the city council and collaborated with the Labor Party.
The City Council broke up again when then-City Council President Roger Valhamer (Ap) resigned due to a motion of no confidence. To the displeasure of Chairman Thor Håkon Pakke, a new city council was established without former cooperation partners MDG.
Achlen predicts a new year of unrest in Bergen if NRK’s latest poll is correct.
– Many parties in the middle are unwinnable, and whoever is going to govern Bergen for the next four years will have to drink coffee and cooperate with parties they don’t like, or don’t like at all. Others, Acklen says.
Labour’s city council leader candidate Rune Bakerwick said they needed to do more to reach younger voters.
Photo: Leif Rune Løland / NRK
Daudt ran between the mayor and Bakervik
Voters in Bergen are divided on who they want as city council president, regardless of which party they vote for.
4 in 10 prefer Labour’s Rune Bakerwick. Many can imagine Christine Meyer from Hogre.
– This is very good news for me. Christine has rented it in the past, so it’s great that more people like me, says Bakerwick.
However, 2 in 10 say they don’t know who they want for mayor. The number of people under the age of 30 is even higher.
– This shows that we still need to do a better job of reaching young people, says Bakerwick.
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