(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[asked] But first the special election campaign spur: In the Norwegian context special because it was characterized by not just one, but several political scandals.
Not before had Conservative Per Ditlev-Simonsen resigned as Oslo mayor after the revelation of the Swiss accounts, and replaced by the immigrant-minded FRP Svenn Kristiansen with the Liberal Party's support, before Dagbladet on 30 August placed SV veteran Stein Ørnhøi on the front page «Revealed at luxury restaurant». The question is how problematic or unusual it is for government advisers to meet lobbyists, including Swedish fighter jets, at restaurants in central Oslo.
Far worse, also considering Monday's election, is the disclosure the next day in VG: The Oslo Tax Office believes the Progress Party has evaded NOK 2,6 million in the period 1995-2005. One thing is Carl I. Hagen's secret account, where taxpayers' money was spent on party travel, parties and spouses. Worse, Chairman Siv Jensen now refuses to publish the critical report. Despite a clear signal from the tax office and a request from a unified Storting, Frp defies the requirements for access before the election.
This is how the party refuses to let voters know what they stand for. And so Jensen shows his true face. The secret is not worthy of an open democracy. This is not about a single person's single mistake, but about a party culture, about the values on which Frp politicians seek their political power in Monday's election.
It goes without saying that the party is not allowed to reduce support after the secrecy of the tax fraud. The indication came with this week's school choice, which in turn made Frp the biggest among teenagers.
But it is not the young people who are to blame for the climate threat, or the fight for vulnerable groups, did not characterize this year's election campaign. A survey by TNS Gallup in August showed that the most important thing for Norwegian voters was elderly care (17 per cent), schooling (16) and personal finance (9). Environment / climate came first in fifth place.
In short: We get as deserved. Or: We get better environmental debates than we deserve, since the NRK's meeting on Tuesday actually had climate as a theme, well to note without the Greens being allowed to participate. Even the hotel king Petter Stordalen has now become more environmentally concerned than most people: This week he spent his millions on his own ink against poison storage in Oslo's harbor pool.
Despite the fact that the majority still prioritises their own wallet over a common environment, SV as the only parliamentary party since this spring has had the environment as a central theme in this local election campaign. In the end, the party seems to have succeeded in setting a climatic agenda. Whether this will have a positive effect on the ballot box on Monday remains to be seen