“2020 turned out to be a really bad year”

Erna Solberg used the New Year’s speech to thank people for their efforts during the crown pandemic and thought it had helped make Norway one of the best performing countries yet.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg began the traditional New Year’s speech by talking about the tragedy in Gjerdrum the day before New Year’s Eve.

– 2020 turned out to be a really bad year. At the beginning of the year the coronavirus arrived. In the end, we witnessed what the destruction of the forces of nature can do, Solberg said.

– Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. Our thanks to the rescue teams who have done a wonderful job.

Touched by effort

Most of the conversation was about what has marked the entire year we just left behind: the corona pandemic.

Solberg said the pandemic had led the government to make decisions quickly and under great uncertainty. Among other things, the government has been criticized for granting quarantine exemptions to migrant workers.

– Not everything went well on the first try. But we have changed our decisions as we learn more.

He also noted that Norway has fared better than many other countries in the two waves of infection that have hit us so far.

– There are several reasons why we have done better so far. We implement the measures early. The countries that waited were the hardest hit. And most Norwegians have lined up for the big charity event.

– I am deeply grateful, proud and moved by the way the Norwegian people have handled the greatest challenge to our society since World War II.

– Even if 2020 were a really bad year, people’s efforts will be something we can always remember with pride.

He directed a special thanks to the employees in hospitals and in the care of the elderly, the enthusiasts and volunteers who have joined, the employees of the schools and kindergartens, those who have worked in transportation, cleaning and retail trade, to public employees, and especially to the Norwegian Health Directorate and the National Institute of Public Health. , who has provided advice and rules 24 hours a day.

Without them, Norwegian management of the virus would not have been possible.

“Our day will come soon”

“Our day will come soon”, the title of the opponent’s memoir Tore Gjelsvik, was the tone of the review in Erna Solberg’s New Year’s speech. Gjelsvik’s name has recently surfaced in the debate surrounding Mars Michelet’s book on the home front.

– The book’s title also puts into words the hope I have for 2021, Solberg said, listing everything we haven’t been able to do in the last year: give each other hugs, be around the concert, gather generations for the holidays and let Russians roll again.

Solberg said “our day” is coming, but it won’t be tomorrow.

– We have to live with the measures a little longer.

The Prime Minister encouraged all of us to take a phone call to people who may be alone.

– It costs so little, but it means a lot.

Praised international cooperation

Erna Solberg said vaccines are one of the things that will make “our day” finally come. He used vaccines as an example of the importance of international cooperation. In his New Year’s speech, he called vaccines a “triumph for science and for international cooperation.”

He said it was important to think of a time “when someone is advocating for every nation to be self-sufficient.”

Erna Solberg said in her New Year’s speech that the EEA deal has been important in securing Norway’s vaccines against the coronavirus. The Prime Minister has made the EEA deal an issue several times in the past, including a duel with Center Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum in early December.

– The pandemic has emphasized that no country can solve these challenges alone. For Norway, the EEA agreement has been important in ensuring us access to vaccines. We have especially received help from our good neighbor Sweden, Solberg said, mentioning that Norwegians benefit from both medical equipment and medicines produced in Europe.

Solberg said the government will support companies fighting under the crown, but the state cannot bear all the risk. He promised “good arrangements so that we can save many of the viable companies.”

– I also want to encourage everyone who can to support their local businesses during this time, said Solberg.

He also used the New Year’s speech to talk about the need for more jobs and a climate-friendly industry. She mentioned, among other things, ferries using hydrogen and the electrification of shipping.

Solberg said young people have sacrificed a lot to limit infection.

– We owe it to young people to do everything possible to give them a good future. Safe jobs. A climate policy that works. And not least, a strong investment in knowledge and competence, Solberg said.