“Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre discusses generational change and policy at Easter mountain”

– This nature is a place to rest and think. I have been going here for many, many years.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is in his element. The skis are lubricated, and Easter Mountain shows itself from its best side. On the slopes here, between Tunhovd and Øygardsgrend in Nore og Uvdal municipality, he has been skiing and on foot for many decades.

Not far away is Hallingskarvet. Which the prime minister himself describes as “the anchor in my life.”

It was here that he applied on Good Friday nine years ago, when it became clear that he would be asked by the election committee to become the Labor Party’s next leader and Jens Stoltenberg’s successor.

– It was a nice view and I could see a fifth of Norway. Then I said to myself, in my own hearing: The answer is yes, Støre said at the press conference at the party office in May 2014:

The following year, the Labor Party recorded a support of 33 per cent in the local elections. Ap’s strongest local election since 1987.

Since then it has gone downhill. Steep down.

Downhill and uphill

On this particular day, there is blue sky above him and blue Swix under his skis. But also a blue majority in the surveys.

– There will always be something we worry about. But I just have to say quite honestly that I think we know what is the right thing to do, and then we can’t let those measurements control it, says Støre.

Now Støre has invited NRK on a ski trip from Langedrag Nature Park to talk about how heavy political setbacks have affected him and the party, but also this:

• The generational change which he believes is ahead of the Labor Party.
• The message to the selection committee before the election of new management.
• The Social Security Rebellion in own party and the debate about power from shore to the oil platforms.
• The criticism from Erna Solberg and the Conservative Party about the governance of the country in a time of crisis.

Crisis management

Jonas Gahr Støre’s nearly two years as head of government have largely been about handling crises. The headlines are corona, power prices and war.

– It is a challenge to be able to convey what it means to have government responsibility at a time when there is war in Europe: the ripple effects of that war, how much it affects a government’s work.

– Erna Solberg says VG that she had run the country better..?

– She did a lot of good, and I have praised her for handling the pandemic. But what we got on our watch, she has not come across. And she should have found a solution with the FRP for many of these difficult, demanding cases.

– But does the criticism affect you?

– No, it doesn’t concern me. But I think it’s easier to say from the outside. We are now hit by crises that come from outside, and in the same way that we cannot cut abroad out of the crises, we cannot cut out everyday life in Norway either, says Støre.

– The sound of a new generation

In the wake of the crises, violent price increases for electricity, food and fuel – and higher interest rates – have sent Norwegians’ purchasing power plummeting. Support for the governing parties has gone the same way.

The Labor Party is now at 17-18 percent in the opinion polls. Support for the party has not been this low in 100 years.

And now Støre is faced with demands for renewal, of policy and personnel. It has caused unrest: there is great support in the party for Minister of Education Tonje Brenna to come in as deputy leader. But former deputy Hadia Tajik has also signed up.

And several believe that both deputy leader Bjørnar Skjæran and party secretary Kjersti Stenseng’s positions need to be reviewed when the solitaire is reshuffled.

– I am actually quite proud that behind me now comes a whole new generation of very experienced, clever people whom I have seen up close in government, in parliamentary groups and out in the party, says Støre.

– I really want to see it now already at the national meeting, that you hear the sounds of a new generation in the Labor Party. And I think we’ll see.

Some have also asked Støre himself to evaluate his position.

– Nor do you say you are protected against critical evaluation and criticism. Isn’t it scary to open the door to a management discussion?

– So, in a democracy you have to open a door. We are elected and are up for election, all of us. And that is why I ask that the election committee think through all those standing for election. And of course that applies to the manager now, says Støre.

– No one subscribes to these positions, we must have confidence in that, and then there must be a team that also looks ahead both to the next election and the next election.

In Easter mountain, the party leader reveals the following:

– I have been on the selection committee and shared what I think about what qualities we need now. And I haven’t mentioned a single name, and I don’t intend to either.

“New Poor”

But the personal solitaire is not the only thing that happens at the national meeting in the first week of May. A new policy will then also be adopted, in the run-up to the autumn’s local elections.

Two issues are already causing controversy in Labor:

• Et social security revolt is spreading, and party profiles are questioning the line of work and believe Labor must ensure that the crises do not create a new poor class in Norway.
• Ap-lag openly questions the sense of sending precious power from land into the sea to operate oil platforms with power.

While budget partner SV and Ap profiles in Oslo ask the party to reconsider the entire line of work, Støre has the following message:

– Our basic attitude as a government, as authorities and as a labor market agency is to contribute to those who can work, to work, he says.

But several county teams are now demanding a general increase in social security benefits, such as disability benefits and old-age pensions, increased rates for social assistance and increased child benefits, according to Aftenposten.

– How does what you say about the work line rhyme with the demand that Labor must look at raising social security benefits permanently?

– We may well have to. During this year that we have been in government, we have increased child benefit, the minimum pension, dependent allowance for the disabled and a number of schemes for students, says Støre.

He himself points out that a new group of poor people may be emerging, who either go on benefits or are in poorly paid jobs.

– Can Ap accept that it happens on your watch?

– No, I think we have to deal with it. But again: this is one of those topics you don’t fix in six months.

Power volley

At the same time, a new power problem may hit APS’s national meeting.

Recently, the Center Party’s national meeting decided to drop the electrification of Melkøya outside Finnmark – that is, to operate the gas plant with power from land. The reason is concern that there will be too little power left on land.

Several Ap groups share the concern, also when it comes to electrifying oil facilities in southern Norway. Sending lots of power out to the shelf will increase electricity prices, they fear, and ask the national assembly to say no to electrification with power from shore, reports NTB.

Støre refers to the Hurdal platform, where it is stated that electrification must be assessed from project to project.

There is only one big problem: electrification is necessary for Norway to achieve its goal of cutting 55 percent of its climate emissions by 2030.

– We have electrified several fields, and there will be even more. But you don’t get any free package here. So if you use power on it, then you simply have to be willing to find alternative power, says Støre.

– Some have advocated pushing the climate target a bit?

– It is out of the question. We have climate targets for 2030. They are demanding enough.