Through the autumn electricity price crisis, the Conservatives have twice as much support as Labor in opinion polls. But Prime Minister Jonas Karstor (Ap) says the parties stand together to protect the current power structure.
On Tuesday morning, Vårt Land’s party polled Ap early with 14.6 percent support. In the same survey, the Conservative Party had 35.6 percent support.
VG’s analysis of party polls shows that Almost 100,000 voters switched from Ap to Høyre Last year.
– Why does the Conservative Party have so much confidence among voters at the moment, Storr?
– I’ll spend some time thinking about it, the Labor leader replies.
– But I noted that Erna Solberg, a year after becoming prime minister, polled more than 41 percent of the vote. At the time I interpreted it as people looking towards an alternative rather than an uncertain government. We are experiencing something similar right now. “We are in a period where we are constantly getting polls and opinions, but this is not an election and it will be something else as we get closer to the election,” he added.
Ap and Høyre see the same
But Storr says both parties have similar ideas about how the power structure works, and they stand together to protect it:
– When it comes to the idea of replacing our entire system of government with another, the Conservatives and the Labor Party see the same thing: that there is no alternative. There are two parties and you can’t force a model without trusting them to deliver results.
But he also points to differences between Labor and the Conservatives in other areas of energy policy:
– I believe that our energy policy has faced the existing challenges. Before the change of government last year, we asked for a study on the electricity subsidy scheme, but when we came to power there was nothing. We researched it in a few weeks and created Europe’s first and most comprehensive electricity support scheme. In the OED, there was barely a human year in the sea breeze. Now we are building a separate sector to fulfill the big offshore wind promise.
Swiss tax evasion
In September, Storr said it was wrong to send wealth to Switzerland to save tax. Since then, new transfer notices have been continuously sent as push notifications by the country’s commercial newspapers.
– Storr says that large fortunes are built in Norway and they do not want to show up for taxation in Norway.
Aker chairman Kjell Inge Røkke is among those who have moved their tax residence to Alpine country, taking the burden of relocation with them. VG previously said that Røkke had privately warned Støre that Aker Verdal could be closed before Ap contributed to the controversial oil tax package in 2020.
– What do you think Røkke is now one of the sticklers?
– I am not singling out one or the other. He says it should be the will of the people.
Storr defends the oil tax package and current tax levels, despite being constantly lambasted by both the rich, salmon tops and the power industry.
– Do you think major business leaders are messing with the government or wreaking havoc?
– Not me. I regularly visit companies with hardworking people doing an amazing job. But then there’s a battle of interests among business entities in Norway, where people often have the strongest voices, Storr says.
– Loudest people are not always right. He says I am the prime minister even for those who don’t have powerful organizations.
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