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– I ask the prime minister to come to the Storting and report on how the government will follow up on the most intrusive measures from March 12, Støre tells Dagbladet.
Like the rest of Norway, it followed the government press conference on Monday when various national austerity measures were introduced.
According to the publicly known basis of decision, there is a professional disagreement on the measures between the National Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The preparation of the new measures was also carried out during the weekend with short deadlines.
Støre assumes that the government has done everything possible to protect Norwegians from infection.
– The question to the Prime Minister is that already in March, the probability of a new peak when night falls was pointed out. Now it is happening. So we must find out what led to such an intense restructuring operation over the weekend. This has almost been anticipated. It is useful for the Storting to know how the government has handled it, says Støre.
Reveal behind-the-scenes drama
Erna should answer this
The Labor Party leader is concerned about what a new round of strongly intrusive measures will lead to, and makes three main points that Erna Solberg must answer:
- The discomfort of the vulnerable affected by the measures.
– Elderly, in need of care, mentally ill, people with substance abuse problems, laid off people who are concerned about new financial problems arising. How will the new measures affect the most vulnerable among us? Støre asks.
– The most vulnerable among us often have weak voices and lack organizations to make them listen. That is why I am so worried now. We can count the number of infected, the number of hospitalized and the number of deaths, but we do not have a number of all those who are vulnerable, who are exposed to new and significant strains.
Close clubs: – Not worth it
- The import center and what the government will do.
– We were critical of the poor preparation this summer, when they opened to travel to the country of infection. Now we discover again that there are significant challenges associated with both labor immigration and other entries from the country of infection. What is the trend and what measures will the government take? Støre asks.
- What is the professional disagreement?
– We understand that intense work has been done over the weekend and this led the Prime Minister to admit that there was disagreement between the National Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Health Directorate. The Prime Minister must account for the trade-offs in the far-reaching decisions that have been made, says Støre.
Solberg: – Rapid increase in infection.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg reminds Støre that Health Minister Bent Høie recently reported on the situation and said the infection landscape could change rapidly.
– This report is now being considered at the Storting, and Bent Høie has said that he can go to the committee to develop it further, preferably together with the Norwegian Board of Health and the NIPH, says Erna Solberg, continuing:
– The Government and I have always been available to inform the Storting about the considerations that are being made, and we are open to it even now, whether in committee or in other forums chosen by the Storting.
The government adopted and published a long-term plan to deal with the pandemic in May, and what is being done now agrees with it, Solberg notes.
– The latest increase in infections has occurred rapidly in recent days. Therefore, the measures have also come quickly. As they have also done in Bergen and Oslo, led by Labor. It is an objective that the new measures are as directed as possible to the latest spread of the infection, so that they intervene as little as possible in daily life in other ways and towards vulnerable groups. Therefore, they should also be based on new professional evaluations that take into account the latest developments, says Erna Solberg.
Power in a few
SV leader Audun Lysbakken welcomes Erna Solberg to the Storting and emphasizes that he supports the measures the government is introducing.
However, he criticizes the fact that the power of intervention measures in practice is in very few hands.
– What we learn from the media about the process emphasizes that it is going fast, it is professional disagreement and that it is the politicians who have the last word. My question is whether it is healthy that power is in so few. When we had this crisis this spring, I think the legislation worked well in an acute crisis, but what we face now is much more durable. So we see that it is a great challenge that it is not better rooted democratically, says Lysbakken.
– Infinitely naive
Wants a new law
SV has proposed that the government in the future still has the power to introduce intervention measures, but that they should subsequently be anchored in the Storting.
– Intervention measures such as restrictions on the freedom of assembly of people or aggressive intervention measures towards the business community, there should be a clear obligation to obtain a majority in the Storting, says Lysbakken, who challenges Støre to support the proposal.
– SV’s proposal is interesting and well reasoned. We do not rule out that we support it, but now we are in the middle of the crisis. We will not impose legislative work that delays us, says Støre.
