Must put away the arrogance – VG

– I would recommend the Labor Party to put away the arrogance. They behave as if they have something more right to vote than other parties, but that is not the case, writes Red leader Bjørnar Moxnes in an e-mail to VG.

On Monday, Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre told VG that he means voters should think twice whether they are considering a party they “do not think they can carry out”, but which rather serves as a reminder of which issues are important.

Moxnes reacts to Støre’s statement, and believes the Labor Party is teaching the voters.

– Støre talks about voters who he claims will vote for parties they think can not implement anything. It is an unreasonable premise to educate voters, writes Moxnes.

– At least our voters know well that Rødt is able to implement policies for a safe working life, fair emission cuts and profit-free welfare, because we have shown this in a number of cities and municipalities across large parts of the country. Many in the trade union movement also see the value of a strong Red, and that a new government cooperates with Red.

– Wondering what Støre is doing

– Recently, Støre has given a number of similar interviews where he points to Rødt with general and erroneous claims about our policy, such as that we have an end date for the oil, writes Moxnes, and refers to statements from Støre in Nettavisen that Red would set an end date, something the party walked away from this year.

– Then it is of course nice if Støre in this case did not mean to criticize Rødt, Moxnes points out, and refers to Monday’s interview with VG.

The Red leader also believes that Støre has repeatedly warned voters against voting Red, and believes he should rather spend his time ensuring that there is a new majority.

– We wonder what Støre is doing. Will he burn bridges and put the majority at risk, in the last election campaign by warning against parties that now seem to secure a majority for a change of government? asks Moxnes.

He also believes that Støre has repeatedly attacked the party’s climate policy.

– In oil policy, Rødt is roughly in line with SV, which Støre is clear that he wants into government. So it is questionable whether there is nothing else Støre fears, such as the combination of an environmental policy that is both powerful and fair, and an actual active business policy.

Moxnes says that Rødt extends a hand and will cooperate after the election.

– We would like to cooperate and negotiate after the election. I want to warn Støre against repeating the recipe from 2017: Then he closed the door for Rødt, but opened for Venstre and KrF. It met with strong reactions from the trade union movement and others. We remember how it ended, he writes.

Without a strong Red, the risk of four new bourgeois years increases. We have to avoid that at all costs.

Støre: – Do not want to teach anyone

Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre seems to take the criticism from Moxnes calmly.

– I think it is perfectly fine that we show the differences between the parties now in the election campaign, he writes in an e-mail to VG.

– Then I am convinced that we who want a change for Norway, can talk together after the election if there is a majority to replace the Solberg government. But Moxnes and Rødt themselves say that they do not want to be in government with the Labor Party, so we agree.

– Is Moxnes right that you teach the voters?

– No, I do not want to teach anyone. My point is that those who want a change and a Labor-led government should vote for the Labor Party. Do not think that there will be a strong Labor Party anyway, so then it is just as well to vote tactically on other parties.

– Do Moxnes and Rødt have reason to feel affected by your statements about other parties “who can not implement”?

– Red says even they do not want the responsibility of sitting in government. I believe Norway needs strong governing parties, which see that the challenges we have before us are connected and require policy for several areas, Støre writes.

In the next decade, for example, we will both create thousands of new jobs in the industry and cut our emissions by 55 percent, and therefore we believe that, for example, Rødt’s no to wind power will be wrong.

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