Christian Democrats fight over «Plan B»

Members of the Christian Democrat (KrF) are quarrelling, with sparks flying, over whether or not to turn their cloaks and propose to Labour (Ap) and the Centre Party (Sp) if the ongoing Government negotiations with the other bourgeois parties go down the drain.

Leader of Christian Democrats Youth (KrFU), Martine Tønnesen, are amongst those that believe that the party should go hot from a bourgeois bed and enter straight into «red» negotiations with the Labour Party and the Centre Party (aka Plan B).

“We have a clear majority decision that we want to be in a Government. And we cannot be a parliamentary basis for a Government we can fell at any given time. That is an unfortunate situation, and I believe that the Prime Minister is not interested in that, either,” Tønnesen tells the local newspaper Trønder-Avisa.

Time to think

County leader in the Christian Democrats’ heartland, Agder, Per Sverre Kvinlaug, believes that the party must take a time-out and reflect if the current negotiations come to a grinding halt.

“It has something to with that once we have sided, we have sided,” Kvinlaug counters.

Christian Democrats veteran Johannes Sandstad, who was on the «blue» side last autumn, believes that the only correct reaction is to return to being in opposition. At the same time, he is certain that if the negotiations with the Conservatives (Høyre), the Liberals (Venstre) and the Progress Party (FrP) crumble, the left-leaning Christian Democrats will proverbially rise from the dead.

“Then we end up in a terribly difficult situation. It is very important that the negotiations succeed for that reason,” Sandstad chips in.

Against nature and man

Several County Leaders that VG has spoken with, however, believe that the heavens won’t come tumbling down if the negotiations go haywire.

“The political differences are very large between Christian Democrats and the Progress Party. It is almost against nature to reconcile those parties,” Leader of the Christian Democrats in Hedmark, Oluf Maurud states. Maurud was in the «red» camp in the battle.

In an interview with NTB during boxing week, the party leader, Knut Arild Hareide, emphasised that it is not given that the Christian Democrats will turn to the left if the negotiations go up in smoke.

The door to Labour and the Centre Party is probably less open in 2019 than it was in the autumn, Hareide opinionated then.

Blistering Tug-o’-War

But the Tug-o’-War that goes on behind the old wooden walls at the Granavolden guest house on Hadeland, is blistering. According to sources close to the negotiations, the parties are struggling to agree on important policy areas such as immigration, abortion and climate. According to Vårt Land, there is a gridlock on immigration, where the Progress Party is at ends with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.

When it comes to abortion, the Christian Democrats’ crusade to change section 2c in practical terms is dead and buried. After what Vårt Land understands, the Christian Democrats are now working for a ban on so-called twin abortions and vying for victories in the biotechnology field, such as thwarting the planned legalisation of human egg donations in Norway.

The Liberal’s complaint about lack of climate support from the Christian Democrats is supposedly ungraciously welcomed in the negotiating room. That allegation is perceived as being unfounded, sources tell Vårt Land.

In several religious and philosophical questions, the two tiny parties are also in a clinch, according to the newspaper.

Among the environmental issues that the Liberals hope to bring home a victory on, is a ban on further cultivation of marshes. But this is opposed by the Christian Democrats, according to NRK. Strong forces in the party will rather heed farmers who want more land to cultivate.

13th day

On Monday, negotiations for a joint bourgeois Government platform continued for the 13th consecutive day. Several ministers have been forced to cancel scheduled events on Tuesday.

So far, there are no signs that the parties’ central bodies have been called to a meeting. If – or when – the negotiators reach an agreement, they will gather in person to review the platform and provide their advice on the horse trade.