Government Blunders Threaten Focus of Autumn Elections

The Ap/Sp government has in a short time received several ugly scratches in the paint. These damages come on top of poor opinion polls for Jonas Gahr Støre & co. Two ministers have had to resign since they have been incompetent in matters that were pending in the government system. Several local politicians fear that the government’s blunders will overshadow the issues that should be the focus of the autumn’s elections to municipal councils and county councils.

An upset Trude Basso appeared on NRK Dagsrevyen on Saturday. “You get discouraged because there are always cases that interfere with local election campaign matters,” said Basso. She is the fourth candidate on the Ap list in Trondheim. “My trust in political Norway is falling”, she wrote on Twitter. Basso has received many statements of support, also from party colleagues elsewhere in the country.

Democracy is like a fragile plant.

Ap leader and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre agrees that trust is absolutely crucial in politics. “When such cases arise, we must act resolutely. I have done that,” said Støre and pointed out that there have been consequences when two ministers here have made such mistakes. They had to get off.

The opinion polls tell us that there are, after all, some voters who are able to separate the wheat from the wheat. The governing parties do better locally than at national level. The Labor Party’s average for polls for general elections is 19.7 per cent. In the municipal polls, Ap gets an average of 21.3 percent. For the Center Party, there is even less that makes a difference. Sp gets 7 percent nationally and 7.4 in the municipalities.

[ Kjell Werner: Borten Moe hadde ikke noe valg. ]

This autumn, it is therefore the local politicians who are asking for the people’s trust. Then policies for care for the elderly, primary schools and other local issues will be in focus. The verdict on the Ap/Sp government will be handed down at the general election in about two years. Here, of course, the politicians have a responsibility to clarify the difference between local politics and national politics.

And of course the press has a corresponding responsibility for raising local political issues. On the other hand, it would be remiss not to judge the government’s efforts from day to day. At the same time, the political opposition is analyzed just as critically.

[ Synnøve Vereide Trampe: Terror. Taktfast marsj. Og tango for to. ]

Democracy is like a fragile plant, it needs to be watered and cared for. In short, it’s all about trust. It is then particularly important that politicians always act in the community’s best interest. Self-interests must give way. Camaraderie and personal financial gain must not occur.

It is perfectly understandable that local politicians in the Labor Party and the Center Party are fed up with the government’s blunders. The government’s weak support in the opinion polls naturally spills over into the local election campaign. But it would be wrong to punish the local politicians in question because the government is doing badly. It will be correcting baker for blacksmith.

[ Kjell Werner: Felles valgdag har mye for seg. ]

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2023-07-23 19:31:27


#Dishes #baker #blacksmith