– He is a size in Norwegian politics and has been for 25 years, says leader Lars P. Løkken in Steinkjer Ap to NTB.
He is one of those who has been supportive of the nomination of Trond Giske as the new county leader in Trøndelag Labor Party.
Now he explains why:
– He represents the grassroots in the party. He listens to the challenges that exist, both in town and country. And he is a good organizational builder and a very skilled politician, says Løkken.
Many Labor politicians who are considered supporters of Giske, are admittedly silent. Strikingly few of those NTB has contacted on Thursday to get them to tell about why they want Giske as county leader, have responded.
Løkken makes no secret of the fact that Giske splits the party.
– But if you have made some mistakes, then you take the consequence of it. Then you should be allowed to come back when you have made up for it, says Løkken.
– Then, of course, there are different opinions about when the time is right for it.
– My husband at the parliament
Per Kristian Skjærvik from Indre Fosen Labor Party believes Giske has now served his sentence.
– Trond is my husband at the parliament, he said on NRK P2 Thursday morning.
– Those I represent in this case, say that Trond is the best politician we have. He is the one who listens to us in the district, and the one who handles matters for us together with the other parliamentary representatives from Trøndelag. He is the one who does the work for us down in the Storting, and he is our man up against the Oslo power that we feel is in the Labor Party, Skjærvik continued.
According to him, it is clear that Giske “has done stupid things”.
– But one day it must be possible to be forgiven and allowed to start again.
– Deserves a second chance
VG has interviewed The Labor Party’s deputy mayor in Meråker, Anne-Karin Langsåvold. She points out that it has been a long time since the events that led to Giske having to resign as deputy leader of the Labor Party, and that he has apologized.
– I think we should give him another chance. We have to think about politics in the future, and I think he is the best candidate to target APS ‘policy both nationally and for the Trøndelag region, she says.
Giske resigned as deputy leader of the Labor Party in January 2018 after warnings of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. There has since been persistent division internally over his further role in the party.
– Enough is enough
Løkken agrees that there has been a culture in the party that there is now a need to clean up, both in Trøndelag and nationally.
But the party must also move forward, he emphasizes and refers to the warnings that the Labor Party’s leader Jonas Gahr Støre has given to put the personal conflicts aside and turn the spotlight on politics.
– I hope time heals all wounds, and that we can start to look ahead and take over what Jonas Gahr Støre has said that now we must gather the team. Either you are with us or you are against us. And now we must gather the party. We need to stop thinking about people. I think that is a good signal from the party leader. Enough is enough, says Løkken to NTB.
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