No majority to disallow Vy

The Norwegian political party, Red (Rødt), proposes to block the proposal by Norges Statsbaner (NSB) to change its name to Vy. This proposal is voted down by the majority of the Parliament. The majority consists of the Governmental parties and the Greens (MDG).

“I am disappointed that we did not obtain a majority for our proposal to stop NSB’s name change to Vy. The Progress Party (Frp) has criticised the name change in the media. In the Parliament, they support it. They even rekindle the debate on whether the state should own NSB at all,” Leader of Red, Bjørnar Moxnes, states after the parliamentary vote on Thursday.

He says they are still happy to have the proposal dealt with. He points to a great commitment in the population regarding the name change.

Vy is ridiculed

NSB announced that they should change their name to Vy on Tuesday. The name change is ridiculed both by politicians and the public.

“Everyone laughs at the name Vy,” Moxnes arguments from the pulpit. He, however, believes that the commitment is about more than that people don’t like the name.

“The engagement is not just about that the name is ridiculous, nor about pure nostalgia, but about the fact that NSB for most of us means more than a brand name. It’s about the railroad we built and paid for jointly, which ties people in this elongated country closer together,” the Leader of Red arguments.

The opposition parties (except MDG) supports the proposal from Moxnes.