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POLITICS

Norway’s biggest cities set for leadership shakeup after local elections

Conservative Party-led city councils are likely to be formed in Oslo, Bergen, and Stavanger while things hang in the balance in Trondheim after the local elections in Norway on Monday.

Pictured is Bryggen in Bergen.
A number of new Conservative-led city councils will be formed in a number of Norway's biggest cities. Pictured is Bryggen in Bergen. Photo by Xiaoyang Ou on Unsplash

The Conservative Party in Oslo will begin talks with other parties on Tuesday morning after performing strongly in the local elections on Monday.

A right-wing bloc of the Conservatives, the Liberal Party, the Progress Party and the Christian Democratic Party secured a majority of 31 seats in the capital, Monday night’s results revealed.

Meanwhile, the parties that had run Oslo City Council for the previous four years, the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Green Party, only managed to secure 23 seats.

How the Conservative-led city council will look has yet to be finalised, and as the Liberal Party has said, it is “problematic and unlikely” that they sit on the same city council as the hard-right Progress Party. The Progress Party and Green Party also appear unwilling to work with one another.

It means a minority local government will again be in charge of the Oslo City Council. Current city council leader Raymond Johansen had previously said he will call time on his political career if he loses the election.

While a Conservative-led city council looks the most likely outcome, and their mayoral candidate, Eirik Lae Solberg, declared an election victory in the early hours of Tuesday, the new city council will not be formed until later in the autumn.

The Labour Party sunk to its lowest share of a vote in any local or national elections in Bergen since 1945. While it means the Conservative Party will likely take over the city council, it is unsure which parties it will rely on to do so.

Combined with the Progress Party, the Liberal Party and Christian Democratic Party, the Conservatives would have 31 seats. This is still three short of the number required to form a majority. Therefore, the party will be required to sit at the negotiating table to get the majority.

The Conservative Party candidate for city council leadership, Christine Meyer, may have to offer to scrap the controversial extension to Bergen’s light rail service in order to try and get the required majority.

This is because some of the parties she may have to work with are opposed to the extension of the Bybanen service, meaning the debate about the scope of expansion may continue for years to come.

Current city council leader Rune Bakervik said to public broadcaster NRK on Tuesday morning that his Labour-led council would step down.

In Trondheim, the results were still neck and neck on Tuesday morning.

Neither the Conservative, Knut Ranum, nor Labour, Emil Raaen, candidates had declared an election victory at the time of publication.

Labour was currently closest, with the party, the Socialist Left Party, Red Party, Green Party and Centre Party combining for a majority of 34 seats.

Playing the role of kingmaker is the Centre Party, which refuses to work with the Red Party.

Should the Centre Party instead choose to support a right-wing bloc, then the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the Pensioners Party, the Industry and Business Party and the Progress would be able to secure a majority if all decided to work together with the Centre party.

In Kristiansand, a Conservative-led bloc consisting of the Progress Party, Christian Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and Centre Party was set to take over. A Labour-led bloc will need to invite others parties to remain in power in Tromsø. and in Stavanger there is a right-wing majority. 

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POLITICS

Norway ranked the best county in the world for press freedom

Norway has once again claimed the top spot in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, showcasing the Scandinavian country's high level of press freedom and independence.

Norway ranked the best county in the world for press freedom

The new World Press Freedom Index, published on Friday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), once again singled out Norway as the global champion of press freedom.

Norway has scored high on virtually all indicators, including the political, economic, legislative, social, and security ones. Its total final score was 91.89 – a drop from 95.18 in 2023 but still high enough for Norway to remain in first place.

Norway has also seen a fall in its political indicator score, which emerged as a common theme in this year’s index.

Ireland (8th), where politicians have subjected media outlets to judicial intimidation, has ceded its leading position in the European Union to Denmark (2nd), followed by Sweden (3rd).

The RSF further commented on the countries that performed the worst in this year’s index: “The three Asian countries at the bottom of last year’s Index – Vietnam, China and North Korea – have ceded their positions to three countries whose political scores have plummeted: Afghanistan, which has persecuted journalists incessantly since the Taliban returned to power; Syria; and Eritrea, which is now last in both the political and overall rankings.

“The last two countries have become lawless zones for the media, with a record number of journalists detained, missing or held hostage.”

A robust legal framework and vibrant media landscape

Reporters Without Borders pointed out that Norway’s robust legal framework and vibrant media landscape have contributed to its continued success in promoting press freedom.

The organisation further said that the Norwegian media market boasts diverse outlets, including the dominant public service broadcaster NRK and various private publishing companies, all of which operate with extensive editorial independence.

Despite the presence of a strong public broadcaster, digital platforms like the online version of the VG newspaper have gained prominence, reflecting a dynamic and evolving media environment.

“The Norwegian media operate in a favourable political environment. By and large, Norwegian politicians refrain from labelling unfavourable coverage as ‘fake news’ and from disparaging its authors.

“Parliamentarians and government ministers avoid approaching the editorial boards of publications subsidised by public bodies”, the RSF said.

The full findings of the 2024 World Press Freedom Index can be found on the RSF website.

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