Frp demands cuts to taxes and refugees, Siv Jensen warns

Frp is adamant about demands for cuts in taxes and that the number of quota refugees must be reduced when they meet with the government parties for budget negotiations.

This was announced by party leader Siv Jensen when she spoke to the party’s national board on Saturday. She warned the government that they cannot expect any easy ride when it comes to budget negotiations this autumn.

– The government can forget about passing a state budget without a clear Frp stamp of approval, Jensen said when she spoke to the party’s national board at Gardermoen on Saturday.

We will not support an equally large numberof quota refugees next year, the Frp leader declared.

But she does not want to quantify how many fewer there must be for Frp to support the budget.

– Our ambition is for as few quota refugees as possible to come to Norway through 2021. This is a question of negotiation. Ultimatums are a very bad idea, but I think the message will be heard by government parties, Jensen says to NTB.

Oslo Frp originally proposed that the national board had to issue an ultimatum of zero quota refugees in the negotiations, but the demand for an ultimatum is, as far as NTB understands, removed in the proposals that the national board will consider on Sunday.

Jensen says the best thing would be for Norway not to accept any quota refugees at all next year.

– Our ambition is that it should be as low as possible, she states.

– Irresponsible
In the speech, Jensen criticized KrF leader Kjell Ingolf Ropstad, who on Friday announced that Norway may soon receive asylum seekers from Greek camps, in line with the agreement the three government parties entered into this spring.

– It was irresponsible before we got the corona pandemic, and it is even more irresponsible to do it now while we are in the middle of it, Jensen said.

Better conditions for pensioners and cuts in fees to reduce cross-border trade are also among the requirements the governing parties will face when they sit down at the negotiating table with Frp. She points out that cross-border trade affects Norwegian shops and workplaces, and referred to shops that have employed more since the border with Sweden closed.

– It’s time for action. The fees need to be reduced, and the decisions have to be made this autumn, said Siv Jensen

Laying a strategy
This is the first time the national board of Frp has had an ordinary, physical meeting since the party left the government in January, and Jensen gave up her job as finance minister.

Frp’s national board will also discuss what kind of cooperation strategies the party will have going into the 2021 election.

In August, Jensen held on to the mantra that the party should not support a government of which they are not a part.

– We will discuss that this weekend, Jensen says to NTB

– Do you think the mantra holds?

– I think so. We can talk about it when the gathering of the national board is finished. I have always said that I must respect for their right to a debate first, she says.

– Hypothetical Sp-collaboration
Former party leader Carl I. Hagen has argued that the best alternative would be a government consisting of Frp, the Conservatives (H) and the Center Party (SP).

Jensen says this a hypothetical solution.

– First, Sp must change sides, Vedum has refused to do so. Frp completely agrees with many of Vedum’s solutions to societal challenges. However, he will never be able to implement them when he chooses to cooperate with the parties on the left. But that is a choice Sp has made, Jensen says to NTB.

As many as 80 resolution proposals have been submitted in advance of the national board meeting, which will also decide how the national meeting will be conducted in line with the infection control rules implemented since October 16. The national meeting was meant to be been held in May.   

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today