Fired as FRP board member: – Surprised – VG

Two days after he and the entire Oslo Frp county council were expelled from the party’s central board, Karlsen speaks for the first time about this week’s internal drama in Oslo Frp:

– I was surprised that the central board took it so hard, but at the same time, the interim board is made up of some of the best people in the party with long experience. Including three former ministers, Karlsen tells VG.

“I think that something good can come out of this process after some time has passed, and I hope that as many people as possible will work for next year’s elections,” he adds.

Geir Hågen Karlsen has been a member of the Oslo Frp board for several years. But Tuesday night was an abrupt end. Then the whole board was removed. The leader, Geir Ugland Jacobsen, was excluded from the party.

No voter appeal

Karlsen, who is also a deputy representative to the Storting of Oslo representatives Siv Jensen and Christian Tybring-Gjedde, does not want to comment on the process that led to the exclusion of the county leader, beyond this:

– The ideological discussion in Oslo Frp has obviously not had much appeal for voters in Oslo. Now I hope we can focus on politics for the benefit of the electorate and care more about fundamental issues like restrictive immigration policy, better roads, and better care for the elderly, he says.

– Lacks ceiling height

Former Oslo Progress Party leader Tone Ims Larssen reacts strongly to the fact that the central FRP board expelled the entire county council.

– That they choose to remove the entire county board in Oslo Frp without even incorporating the members of the county board, seems very strange to me. The entire board was only eliminated at a stroke, says Ims Larssen, who now has a more retired role after he chose to step down as FRP leader in Oslo, and left the leadership club so far excluded from Geir Ugland Jacobsen.

Struggle with part of the leadership culture in central Frp.

– The biggest challenge that FRP has now, in my opinion, is that the ceiling height we were always used to is no longer there. Here it is I drive out of fear applicable.

– Leadership based on fear?

– Yes, it is probably the closest translation to Norwegian. So you create silence. People dare not speak or warn. That form of leadership is probably one of the reasons that tough cases are resolved amicably. I sit on the Conciliation Board. There we meditate in search of solutions. When the central leadership in Frp elects to remove an entire county board without prior process, then they practice I drive out of fear, she says.

VG has presented the criticism of Ims Larssen to the party leadership in the party. They have no comment on the case, says Frp communications chief Kjetil Løset.

Tags

This winter, the majority in the Oslo FRP county council decided they wanted to make the party a “patriotic beacon.” Oslo Frp Geir Hågen Karlsen answers the question whether he agreed with Ugland Jacobsen:

– I am not so concerned with ideological labels. The most important thing for the FRP is to engage with voters and identify their needs. But I realize that some have been too concerned with these labels.

– Do you want to describe yourself as a national conservative?

– I think everyone in the Progress Party is concerned about putting Norway first. But those labels are a distraction. When we talk about practical politics together, everyone will see that we belong to the same party. Now I want to look forward and do everything I can to increase Frp’s support for next fall’s elections, says Geir Hågen Karlsen.

– Was it correct to exclude the county leader?

– I’ll be content to answer that it was great that Geir came out and said that people should refrain from opting out of Frp because of this, says Karlsen.

The former board member does not rule out that he may rejoin a new board on the county team.

The interim board appointed by the central board is chaired by former FRP Deputy Director Ketil Solvik-Olsen until a new annual meeting and nomination meeting is held in the new year.

– Must bear

Tone Ims Larssen is very surprised that the ideological label has become part of the reason for the rejection of the leader and the board in Oslo Frp.

– It is alleged that it is the resolution where it is mentioned national conservativeand lighthouse, which was adopted by the previous annual meeting, which is the very core of this exclusion. In that case, it is sad, because it was conceived primarily as a discussion and debate. I think we have to bear it. So of course one must bow to the majority even if it goes against one’s opinion. This is being true to a majority decision, Ims Larssen tells VG.

– I think most of us are willing to do a job if the Oslo Frp members want us to participate. Remember that it is the Oslo Frp members themselves who will elect a new board and who will adopt the Oslo Frp list to the Storting, says Geir Hågen Karlsen.

– Is it natural for party leader Siv Jensen to get first place on the Storting list?

– I was the one who wrote the resolution of the Provincial Council this summer, when we unanimously decided that it is natural. So there’s no question about that, says Karlsen.

“Irregular practice”

After Ugland Jacobsen left and it was not automatic for the party leader to take first place in Oslo, the county council was called for an emergency meeting on July 2.

At the proposal of Geir Hågen Karlsen, it was adopted:

“It has been an irregular practice for party leaders and deputy leaders to be placed first on the nominated list by the nominating committee in their respective county councils. The nominating committee is excellent in its attitude. The Oslo board Frp recommends common practice, “declared Oslo Frp.

– Debate characterized by incorrect information

Kent Andersen was a colleague of Karlsen on the now defunct county team. For him, the closure was a shock.

– It was very surprising, as there was never any indication that the county council was part of the problem.

There was a lot of attention from across the county team when it adopted the so-called patriot resolution at the annual meeting earlier this year. Andersen believes the county team debate is misunderstood.

– It has been characterized by a lot of misinformation and skin debates. There have been many slogans and little content. You don’t get rid of the discussion about future options by closing the board, so I don’t quite understand where they want with this.