There is probably a majority in Kristiansand City Council for the inhabitants of the entire municipality to decide the fate of old Søgne and Songdalen. It may end up that Sp’s victory in the government is still not implemented.
Less than 50 minutes ago
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The government announced last week that they will hold a referendum in the old Søgne and Songdalen municipality on divorce from Kristiansand.
Kristiansand City Council has previously said no to such a referendum.
NRK announced on Monday that the government has opened for a referendum in the entire municipality, including old Kristiansand. Kristiansand mayor Jan Oddvar Skisland (Labor Party) told the TV channel that it may contribute to the split not being implemented.
Now the group leaders in the Labor Party, the Conservative Party, the Christian Democrats and the Socialist People’s Party say yes to such a solution – if they are forced to hold a referendum.
The four parties have a majority in the city council, but there has previously been internal disagreement about a referendum in several of them.
–– Will affect everyone
– I’m not sure if we can be required to hold a referendum at all. But if we are to have it first, then I think we should listen to the inhabitants of the whole municipality, says Aps group leader Kenneth Mørk to VG.
Renate Hægeland is the group leader for the Conservative Party, which has 11 party members in the city council. The government’s handling is irresponsible, she believes.
– I think we should consider including the whole of Kristiansand. This is a case that affects three former municipalities, not just two. It is completely natural that the whole municipality is heard, not just parts, says Hægeland to VG.
SV’s group leader, Andreas Landmark, says that the matter has not been “thoroughly discussed” in their party yet.
– But basically I think that now all the inhabitants of Kristiansand are in the same boat. It will affect everyone, and then it is right that everyone has a say, Landmark says to VG.
SV’s group consists of four people, and was divided in the middle when Kristiansand City Council voted down the proposal for a referendum last.
– I have thought that the case is dead, and then this bomb came last week. It is basically something we only have to deal with when the government has decided to do so, but I am very surprised that they choose to do it this way.
–– Doubts that the city council gets to decide
Nor has the KrF city council group discussed who in the municipality should get a vote in a possible referendum, says group leader Jørgen Kristiansen to VG. Also in KrF, there are divided opinions in the group, which consists of nine representatives.
– I think that if one is to first hold a referendum, then it is wise that everyone gets to think something. But I doubt that the city council will decide when the government has decided to overrule, he says and continues:
– I have never experienced that the government has overruled the city council in Kristiansand in this way. And I’ve been on the city council for 20 years.
–Only Søgne and Songdalen
The group leader for the Center Party in Kristiansand, Reidar Heivoll, will only have a referendum in Søgne and Songdalen.
– Now we have not decided our position in the municipal council group yet, but I think it is natural that the referendum should be in the two old municipalities, says Sp’s group leader, Reidar Heivoll, to VG.
He says he makes a reservation that it should be dealt with in Sp’s group first.
Søgne and Songdalen were forcibly merged against their will and there was a referendum that was not taken into account. When we presented a case to the city council before Christmas, we argued for a referendum in Søgne and Songdalen, and a citizens’ hearing in old Kristiansand, he says.
He says that it is natural to look at how the situation was resolved in Ålesund, which he believes was in a similar situation when the old Haram municipality broke out. A referendum was held in the old Haram municipality.
– But does a municipal solution affect the inhabitants of old Kristiansand as well?
– It does, of course. But there’s an old history here. Søgne and Songdalen were incorporated in Kristiansand against their will, he says.
He says he has no idea what the result of the referendum should be.
– Will Sp follow the result of the referendum, if the result is that the current municipality should pass?
– Yes, he says.
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