Languish.org

Rest is Politics had an interesting interview lately that told me this was coming up.
So.
PICK.
MAKE NORGY CRY.

I know two persons on the list, rest is unknown to me. Voted for one of the unknowns.

While I know nothing about Norwegian politics, I'm reasonably confident that Ernst Blofeld is the man for the job.

Going for Labour this time around.
Well. And I can actually vote in this election. :uffda:

Quote from: Josquius on September 01, 2025, 10:27:04 AMMAKE NORGY CRY.

A cat video would have sufficed, really.

Quote from: Norgy on September 01, 2025, 11:47:42 AMGoing for Labour this time around.
Well. And I can actually vote in this election. :uffda:

Their leader was the one being interviewed on rest is politics. Purely based on that so who knows reality but seems rather good. Enviable.

Given that it is my job as a journalist, I have an analysis of the choices.

There are two real candidates for PM. Picture 1 and 2.
Both are experienced and proven. Number 1, surprisingly, is Labour. Number 2 is the former PM Erna Solberg of the liberal-conservative Høyre.

The conservatism of the party can be debated.

Labour and Høyre are not that different.

I think the deciding factor in Labour's direction to a win is Jens Stoltenberg returning into politics again. He is the current secretary of the treasury. His competence cannot be questioned.

Number 4 is Sylvi Listhaug of the Progress Party.
While the party at local levels tend to have morons, and that is factual, not an opinion, sex offenders (factual) and outright idiots along with some old apartheid-supporters running for office, the party as a whole is no longer a joke.

A blend of populism and "make alcohol affordable again" along with a very good campaign may make them the second largest party and a serious contender for a "non-socialist" prime minister.

Numero tres is Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, leader of the Agrarian Party or Centreparty. Met him several times. Nice bloke. Popular. Populist.

The other candidates are from small, yet relevant parties. Norway's oldest party is Venstre. It may be the decider if they go above the 4 percent recquired.

The number five, Kirsti Bergstø, is interesting and important.

The Socialist Left know very well they won't ever have a majority. But they can push Labour towards compromises.
And, don't quote me on this, though, they might decide whether it is Støre or Solberg who will be PM.

The Greens and Christian Democrats? Nah.

Hottest chick with no nazi vibe is #3.

I'm tempted to vote for knock-off Clint Howard.  :hmm:

Number three is a dude.

 :lol: That dude is the hottest chick.

Quote from: Josquius on September 01, 2025, 12:55:49 PM

Quote from: Norgy on September 01, 2025, 11:47:42 AMGoing for Labour this time around.
Well. And I can actually vote in this election. :uffda:

Their leader was the one being interviewed on rest is politics. Purely based on that so who knows reality but seems rather good. Enviable.

Støre is like Olof Palme. He had private education, went to France for Sorbonne and Ecole Whatchacallit. He was headhunted by former PM Brundtland as a private secretary.

There is no-one, and I mean this from an objective point of view, more competent to run this country apart from Jens Stoltenberg. And now they are running together.

Støre's biggest problem is that he is in no way working class. Which is sort of a nice thing to be when you run for Labour.

Labour had a huge boost after Stoltenberg returned.

I met Støre 4 weeks ago.
The man is ace. +1 in every category. It was the third time I met him.

Solberg comes, like Støre, from a rich background. She has had two terms, and objectively, only the last one was good.

The NOK crashed to an extent never seen before in her first term. She and her partners handled covid well. I have also met Solberg.

On the list, only the Green candidate is someone I have not talked to.

Lady with glasses.

The last guy looks suspiciously like some kind of Nordic JD Vance. 

I voted for the guy who looks like Harold Stassen.

Quote from: Sheilbh on September 01, 2025, 05:32:30 PMLady with glasses.

Grats, mate, you are a communist.  :lol:

Quote from: Neil on September 01, 2025, 05:41:26 PMThe last guy looks suspiciously like some kind of Nordic JD Vance. 

He is... unsurprisingly a Christian Democrat. It used to mean centrism with conservative family values.

Now they desperately try to get voters back and have made a hard right turn.

Thing is, the voters on the right would not eat the pie this party serves, as they vote Progress Party.

Norway's political landscape is not that hard to understand.

All parties have flaws.

None of them will destroy the world.

Class? Questions? Your uncle Norgy is here.

woops, meant #4

Voted for the blonde

Venstre. Not a bad choice.

Randomly appearing on my feed, Norwegian campaigning  :lol:

The OECD recently, only weeks ago, published a very critical report about Norway's lack of anti-corruption laws and enforcement.

I read the whole thing. It was much ado about nothing.
But in my job, I have seen less transparency the past few years. Mostly from the police.

It worries me a bit.

The sovereign wealth fund came under scrutiny for investments in companies involved in what Norway sees as "occupied territories" on the West Bank of the river Jordan. Thankfully, this is above my paygrade to write about.

But we collectively own so many Tesla shares that we should flagellate.

#2 is a British comedian.

Latest poll show a slight lead for the left-green.

If you ever doubt that Støre is a major leader, watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3MEtCAeG8w&ab_channel=TheRestIsPolitics%3ALeading

I suppose this is what you watched, Josq?

Si.

I know they have a pretty good record of interviewing international leaders in election campaigns who then go on to win. :lol:

I'd say Støre is one of the most eloquent and intelligent leaders Norway's had. The last one was the conservative Kåre Willoch, who could make Mrs. Brundtland so angry her neck turned red.

Støre is a "Brundtland child", a reformed Labour party that went to the centre. It opened up a space on the left.

Willoch famously said "Labour stole our clothes while we were out swimming".
Labour adopted a lot of the Høyre policies and kept its momentum.

I'd be hard-pushed to say Labour is left-wing anymore. It is a centrist party. They followed the Swedish Social Democrats and went for market solutions rather than statism.
In one sense, the Labour Party is the most conservative party in Norway. To reform to preserve. Because we actually have a good society.

Quote from: Norgy on September 01, 2025, 07:56:12 PMGrats, mate, you are a communist.  :lol:

Don't tell Raz :ph34r:

QuoteIn one sense, the Labour Party is the most conservative party in Norway. To reform to preserve. Because we actually have a good society.

I think this is true in a lot of the West - I think we're in a "everything must change for everything to stay the same" moment and the "traditional" parties that maintain their importance will be the ones who are best able to do the "everything must change" bit.

Quote from: Sheilbh on September 03, 2025, 05:47:47 AM

Quote from: Norgy on September 01, 2025, 07:56:12 PMGrats, mate, you are a communist.  :lol:

Don't tell Raz :ph34r:

Don't worry, you're a white liberal lawyer who grew up in a castle, don't think you can got much further down on his list :lol:

Sheilbh is under my protection.

I'll go full Norgy on anyone attacking him, and it involves a stare.

Quote from: Norgy on September 03, 2025, 07:06:38 AMSheilbh is under my protection.

I'll go full Norgy on anyone attacking him, and it involves a stare.

Like the carebear kind? :unsure:

Ask Gups.

I'll vote for Jesper Berg.

Glasses girl. She's also likely smarter than me and that's ok. I'll cook.

Edit: found out she's a commie. Things about communists: a lot of what they say is quite reasonable, but why on earth would anyone want identify as a communist? There's just too much extra baggage for the flight.

There are two reasons to identify as a communist.  The first is that you're naive, the sort of person who tells people 'it's never been properly implemented'.  The second is that the vicious baggage is the point.  Either way, not a serious person.  There are ways to say that you stand up for social solidarity and rolling back the last hundred years of privatization without clothing yourself in a moniker that has tainted itself by failure and massacre.  It's like being part of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Latest polls show a lead for the red-green-green impossible coalition. 28 percent Labour.

The conservatives have collapsed. Utterly.

I have no factual explanation, so I can only speculate. They seem to have no policies.
And in times of crisis, voters do tend to turn to Labour, as it is secure, middle-of-the-road policies.

Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2025, 01:21:36 PMThe first is that you're naive, the sort of person who tells people 'it's never been properly implemented'.

Well they are correct. At no point did the state fade away and an anarchist collectivist utopia ever happen.

But the idea that would ever happen is so ridiculous I don't think Communism ever had a chance. Sort of like Libertarianism or other streams of Anarchism. Just Communism had this totalitarian "temporary" stage that is actually sort of workable if you like living in a totalitarian hellhole.

Having visited much of Eastern Europe after the fall of communism, I'd say this: The love of concrete was great.

"Want us to cut some marble?"
"We will go for more concrete, thanks"

Quote from: Valmy on September 04, 2025, 07:42:34 PM

Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2025, 01:21:36 PMThe first is that you're naive, the sort of person who tells people 'it's never been properly implemented'.

Well they are correct. At no point did the state fade away and an anarchist collectivist utopia ever happen.

But the idea that would ever happen is so ridiculous I don't think Communism ever had a chance. Sort of like Libertarianism or other streams of Anarchism. Just Communism had this totalitarian "temporary" stage that is actually sort of workable if you like living in a totalitarian hellhole.

Libertarianism also has a totalitarian stage. It's the one where the Thiels and Musks of the worlds are feudal overlords because they have all the money, which they're free to deploy as they will. And everyone else will have the freedom to eke out an existence by being subservient to them. Functionally it's totalitarianism, but in the name of "feedom".

We have a very small libertarian party. Their policies would be so un-workable in Norway that most reporters treat them as a joke.

These are basement-dwellers.

Saw some dude wearing a MAGA hat today in my little hometown. That's weird, I thought, so I talked to him.
He is a Baptist and hates the Labour party.

"Shouldn't we rather make Norway great again?"
"Trump is making the world great again"

At that point, I really needed a cigarette and a sugary drink.

Quote from: Neil on September 04, 2025, 01:21:36 PMThere are two reasons to identify as a communist.  The first is that you're naive, the sort of person who tells people 'it's never been properly implemented'.  The second is that the vicious baggage is the point.  Either way, not a serious person.  There are ways to say that you stand up for social solidarity and rolling back the last hundred years of privatization without clothing yourself in a moniker that has tainted itself by failure and massacre.  It's like being part of the Ku Klux Klan. 

More like it has never been implemented at all, never mind weaselly words like "properly".  The world might have seen what a communist state might achieve, but the Bolsheviks took control.  There is a good argument to make that something like the Bolsheviks will always take control, but that is a different argument.

Election day. No polls.

Quick prediction:
Labour is the biggest party.
The Progress Party becomes historically big.
The centrist parties are almost annihilated.
Conservatives having their worst election since the 90s.
The left flank gathering 10-15 percent together.
The Greens will do a good election in the cities, and will be ignored on the countryside.

Parliament will be split almost 50/50 and there will be a coalition. Which type, I have no idea, but it will have so many conflicting ideas and policies that interesting times are ahead. When you are a journalist.

Isn't Labour the centrist party? :unsure:

Quote from: Norgy on September 08, 2025, 07:11:53 AMThe Progress Party becomes historically big.

Haven't you guys been watching what is happening in the US? Are Norwegians really pining for economic chaos, revolting corruption and the contempt of the world?  It's a high price for being able to wear an I'm With Stupid t-shirt when visiting Inkognitogata 18.

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on September 08, 2025, 09:20:24 AM

Quote from: Norgy on September 08, 2025, 07:11:53 AMThe Progress Party becomes historically big.

Haven't you guys been watching what is happening in the US? Are Norwegians really pining for economic chaos, revolting corruption and the contempt of the world?  It's a high price for being able to wear an I'm With Stupid t-shirt when visiting Inkognitogata 18.

Impressive knowledge of Oslo's streets.  :cool:

The Progress Party, if I am trying to be objective for once, isn't the GOP. While it was started by a pro-apartheid, anti-tax former nationalist, it has evolved. But their policies don't sit well or make much sense when seen as a whole.

Cut taxes, spend more.
In one sense they are a bit like the GOP, as they've had the most sex offenders of all Norwegian parties.
But the fascist tendencies are a thing of the past. Now they just want to privatise everything.

And we won.
Thank the powers that be.
Results are in.

89 vs 80 mandates.

I think books will be written about Støre, coming from 14 percent in January to win the election.

Jens Stoltenberg obviously played some part.
But I think the main driver for Labour is that people feel safe under their governance.

Norway's oldest party, the social liberal Venstre, may not get any mandates at all.

What we have had of good governance in Norway is basically thanks to Venstre, Labour and Høyre. Høyre never became Milton Friedman fans. They have been Manchester liberals. Since the 1940s.

Are you Social Democrats more socially democratic than the Danish SD? I imagine they'd have to be...?

They're certainly less against immigration. In 20 years, there'll hardly be people left here.
Less green, I think, but they're hardcore on taxing the rich. Which was an issue, as billionaires moved to Switzerland.

Although Norway is a country that it is easy to get rich in.

The Labour party must look left for support, but I imagine there will be great compromises, as is our political culture.

I suppose "tax the rich and they will just move to Switzerland" does have more validity when your country is already fairly Swissesque.

Centre-left Labour trying to win over further left parties sounds like a perfect situation no?

The left parties Rødt and SV do not want the Centre Party in a coalition. The Greens are actually more in line with Labour than ever.

For me, personally, this election result means something. That I cannot state publicly elsewhere. It means that populism did not win and responsible and responsive governance did.
Labour is my safe place.