In Sunday’s prime ministerial duel on TV 2, Erna Solberg (H) and Jonas Gahr Støre (AP) both warned viewers against some of the opposing coalition parties in the run-up to the September elections.
Just before Solberg and Gahr Støre met for a TV duel at the Deichman Library in Oslo on Sunday night, TV 2 published an opinion poll showing that the Center Party (SP) is losing voter support again.
There is still a red-green majority, but with the narrowest possible margin – in total, the Labor Party, the Socialist People’s Party, and the Center Party would get 86 out of 169 seats, according to the poll.
At the same time, both the Red Party (Rødt) and the Green Party (MDG) are above the threshold.
Possible partners
During the duel, Støre was challenged on whether he would cooperate with one or both of the two parties if he does not achieve a majority government together with the Sp and the SV.
He didn’t provide a clear answer.
“We will see when the election results are in. I believe that it is possible to get that majority,” Støre said.
“Labor will not be dependent on parties that want to take us in an irresponsible direction,” he added.
Erna Solberg once again warned against the red-green government. She drew parallels to the parliamentary elections in 2017, when the Labor Party, according to Solberg, warned that a vote for the governing party Venstre was also a vote for the then governing party FRP.
“If you do not clarify these things, some may believe that a vote for the Labor Party or the Center Party is a vote for the Red Party or the Green Party,” Solberg said.
Støre’s response
Støre, for his part, pointed back to 2005, when Erna Solberg, according to the AP leader, tried to scare voters by saying that the SV could influence Jens Stoltenberg’s second government.
“I stand by what I said – a capable Labor government with the SP and the SV is our goal,” he concluded.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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LOVE it. The party which did most to open The Gates of Troy says it doesn’t want to take “an irresponsible direction.”
Too late. Far too late.