FEELS SUPPORT: Jonas Gahr Støre says he has broad support in the party, even if support from the voters is on the wane. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
The Prime Minister is optimistic both on behalf of himself and the Norwegian economy – despite bang after bang in 2023.
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- Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre admits, says we have reached the interest rate peak and says we are now moving towards a brighter economic time with hope of increased purchasing power for Norwegians.
- Støre has had to deal with several scandals, increased interest rates and a poor election result in the past year. Nevertheless, he is clear that no one has asked him to leave.
- He points to two factors in particular as being important in getting people to believe in the government’s project: Securing work for people and curbing inflation, which will thus increase people’s purchasing power.
Sea view
Jonas Gahr Støre’s first year as prime minister was characterized by war, crises and poor opinion polls. Støre’s second year has been marked by more war, more crises and an election result that would have given Einar Gerhardsen father of the country Einar Gerhardsen Einar Gerhardsen was leader of Ap for 20 years and prime minister of Norway after the Second World War. During his time as prime minister, the Labor Party got its best result ever – a whopping 48.7 per cent in the general election in 1957. to turn in its grave.
Some might say that Støre has had its share of cold showers in the past year. But cold water, Støre does not seem particularly afraid of. This year too, he plans to ring in Christmas with an icy dip in the sea.
So when VG asks the next question, the answer is perhaps not so surprising:
– Is this your politics “terrible year”“terrible year”The expression “annus horribilis” is used for years that go horribly wrong. It became particularly famous when Britain’s former Queen Elizabeth used it in 1992.?
– There have been many difficult cases this year. But I don’t like to dig myself into a negative “feeling sorry for myself” situation when I have the opportunity to be prime minister in a demanding time and find good solutions, says Støre.
DON’T AFRAID OF A COLD SHOWER: Støre has made ice bathing an annual Christmas tradition. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
– You also have to take care of your health, get enough sleep, be with those you love and get the breaks that make life and everyday life connected. I have good people around me, both at work and in my family, he says.
– I have not heard that
Here is the bad 2023 list:
- Increased interest, electricity and food prices. Everything has become more expensive – and more and more Norwegians are noticing it on their wallets.
- Politician scandals have popped up this summer and autumn as a political “whac-a-mole” “whac-a-mole” In the game “whac-a-mole” you have to knock down moles that emerge from holes, but in the one has knocked down one mole, a new one appears from another hole. . Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moes (Sp), Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) and Education Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) had to leave the government after integrity cases. It has also stormed around Labor Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) and Conservative leader Erna Solberg.
- With an election result of 21.6 per cent, the Labor Party – for the first time in almost 100 years – does not Norway’s largest party.
- Outside the country’s borders, not only the war in Ukraine is raging, but also the war between Israel and Hamas, which broke out after Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.
– In times of crisis, people often rally around their leaders, they don’t do that now. In fact, people will rather have Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg as prime minister than you. Why is it like that?
– When people’s finances become tighter, it is not unusual to hold those in charge accountable. But we will get through this in a good way, and we are beginning to see signs of a positive outcome of the economic crisis we have been in.
CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE: This autumn, Støre had to attend a hearing in the control and constitutional committee, which investigated the competency cases. Photo: Hallgeir Vågenes / VG
– Has anyone asked or asked you to leave?
– Not one vote in the party’s central bodies. We have a national assembly, a national board and a central board. There is a very open tone, and I have not heard that, says Støre.
– So no one has asked you to step aside?
– In the.
– Is there room to have that discussion in the Labor Party?
– Yes, I think it must be.
Reversing stop
Støre does not want to speculate whether the government project would have had more support if SV had also been involved.
Government partner the Center Party’s approval of the Hurdals platform The Hurdals platform The Hurdals platform is the Labor Party and the Center Party’s government platform, i.e. the document with the policies they will implement. for reversals of police, municipal and county reform, he insists. But now the reversals are over, according to Støre.
– But there is still a need to make changes to the policy implemented by the Solberg government, he says, highlighting child protection, hospitals and welfare.
– Our line is not privatization or major cuts in the public sector, our line is to develop the welfare state so that it is not for decoration, but can help us, says Støre.
HURDALS KAMERATEN: Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) and Støre during the party leadership round on election night. Photo: Naina Helén Jåma / VG
– Has the welfare state been too much of a decoration in recent years?
– At least it has been treated in a way that has not strengthened it. I believe, for example, that flat efficiency cuts across all sectors are wrong.
– In Northern Norway, and especially Lofoten, people are furious about the announced cuts in the hospitals.
– No political decisions have been made on that yet. There is a special development in the north which means that we have to review how the whole of Helse Nord is organised. We will process the proposals when we receive them, says Støre.
Does not change Norges Bank’s mandate
In order to get people on board with the Labor Party and the Center Party’s political project, two conditions must be in place, according to Støre: Inflation must be staggered so that the rise in prices decreases and people must have work.
– More people now have a job to go to, so the key interest rate must go down and the housing interest rate must follow. We see signs of that, says Støre.
– You said that the interest rate peak had been reached below your annual summary, but people’s housing interest rates are only raised after the key interest rate has been raised. It hasn’t peaked yet. When will the economic times be brighter?
– I can’t say a month. Norges Bank suggests that the interest rate will be lowered in the autumn. Other economists believe that something may come sooner. It is at the time when this turns around that it is the toughest, says Støre.
Info
Six quick questions with Støre:
Best movie experience of the year: «Napoleon» med Joaquin Phoenix.
Best trip of the year: Business trip to Japan. Private summer holiday in Corsica.
Best buy of the year: Ski for the grandchildren.
Eating on Christmas Eve: Ribs
Christmas traditions: Ice bath
New Year’s resolutions: Not having a New Year’s resolution.
Sea view
– Was the previous interest rate hike a blow to the government?
– It wasn’t a blow to the government, but it was a tough message to people who feel that interest rates bite hard. We must do what we can to ensure that the price increase goes down, it is also Norges Bank’s responsibility to ensure that the interest rate goes down, says Støre.
LO him critical of the latest rate hike – something Støre understands. Nevertheless, he is clear in his speech:
– The government does not intend to change Norges Bank’s mandate. We believe it is important to have calm and predictability around the mandate.
WELFARE STATE TO BE DECORATED: Going forward, there will be no major reversal projects – but Støre will tackle child protection and hospitals. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
– You do not control the interest rate. What will be the government’s most important priority to improve Norwegians’ economy in the coming year?
– It is to do our job in a responsible way, says Støre and points to the national budget.
– We spend a lot of money in the Norwegian economy, but we could spend more. If we had done that, I think we would have increased the pressure on the Norwegian economy and had a longer period of inflation, says Støre.
CHRISTMAS TREE FOR THE BOSS: Christmas tree driver (and speller award winner (!!) Ola Brandsnes Vårtun delivered a Christmas tree to the Prime Minister’s residence on Tuesday morning. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
At Christmas, people often talk about the Holy Trinity; the father, the son and the holy spirit. In Støre’s Christmas interview, he talks about another trinity: the state budget that the government creates, the interest rate that Norges Bank sets and the parties in working life that negotiate wages.
– Wage settlements, interest and the budget should pull in the same direction, says Støre.
– You are talking about a tight budget so as not to put pressure on the Norwegian economy. You said the same about the last budget, but then You found NOK 9 billion. How tight is it?
– I would say that it still is. There is NOK 9 billion that has been found in a way that does not increase the use of oil money and which is still a responsible and tight budget, says Støre and adds that the government had several billions to spend before the so-called action rule of 3 per cent was reached.
Støre: Will be difficult for Ukraine without the US
Further south in Europe, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been at war with Russia for almost 700 days.
Norway has secured multi-year support for Ukraine through the so-called Nansen programme. Support for Ukraine in the EU and the US is not as obvious as it was when the war broke out.
– Can Ukraine manage without this support?
– It is not so surprising that this is being discussed in the countries. It is money that is taken from somewhere else, but I still think they see that so much is at stake that it is worth doing, says Støre.
– What about the support from the United States?
– If American military and financial support does not materialize, it will be very difficult for Ukraine. Then it is demanding to maintain what is needed to defend oneself against an adversary that uses such broad military power as Russia. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen, says Støre.
UKRAINE SUPPORT: Zelenskyj when he visited Norway earlier in December. Photo: Endre Alsaker-Nøstdahl / VGPublisert:
Published: 20.12.23 at 10:01 am
Updated: 20.12.23 at 10:17 a.m
2023-12-20 09:01:21
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