Norway: Broken promises hurt the government more than the war

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has lurched from crisis to crisis during his minority government’s first year in office. Støre has been on the defensive himself since Labour and the Center Party formed their minority coalition after last autumn’s election.

The Corona crisis was quickly replaced by the crises created by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Putin began using energy as a weapon, Norway was drawn firmly into the fray as a major supplier of energy. The country has grown even richer than it already was, given skyrocketing prices for gas and electricity.

Meanwhile Norwegians themselves are now facing rapidly rising prices, higher interest rates and record monthly bills for the power they once took for granted.

Many transport, cultural and even defense projects have been put on hold. Heavy new taxes are being imposed on both businesses and individuals, adding to their costs as inflation takes off.

The budget, which Støre and his ministers claim had to be “tight” in order to keep the economy from overheating, is full of unpopular cuts, omissions and lots of new and rising taxes. His attempt to redistribute wealth while also keeping inflation down is backfiring badly.

That was evident in a new public opinion poll that shows voters turning their backs on the government and giving the opposition a solid majority.

Støre’s once-mighty Labour Party fell to an astonishing 18.2 percent, its lowest level of voter support ever and more than eight points down from last year’s election results.

The Center Party did even worse, all but collapsing from levels as high as 20 percent two years ago to just 4.3 percent during the period when the poll was taken (October 25-30).

That leaves the government with support from just 22.5 percent of Norwegian voters, while the Conservatives alone now hold 32.4 percent.

https://www.newsinenglish.no/2022/11/02/broken-promises-hurt-the-government-more-than-the-war/