I haven’t had a phone call in five years – VG

He says that Bøhler has not called, has not answered the phone or answered questions and, to a very small extent, has asked at local council meetings, county councils and in the parliamentary group.

– At one point I wondered if I should send you a missing message, says Raymond Johansen in this interview with VG.

This, according to the central board member and former party secretary, rhymes very badly with the image of Bøhler and the stated goal of being an “ombudsman” for the common people in Groruddalen.

On Thursday morning, Jan Bøhler sent shockwaves to the Labor Party when he performed in Grorud together with SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, announcing that Bøhler will now be the first candidate for the SP in Oslo.

– I saw the press conference in Grorud on Thursday and there Bøhler talked a lot about being an “ombudsman”. It seems as if Jan thinks that the role of the ombudsman is simply to talk to people, without giving back what people are talking about, without attending party meetings, without being particularly active in the Storting. Now I have been the leader of the city council for five years and I have not received a single phone call from Jan, and he does not answer the phone when I call. As a city council leader, I want to have a pretty big impact on the development of the city, and it’s a shame Jan doesn’t use the channels he does have after all to promote issues and proposals, Raymond Johansen tells VG.

Jan Bøhler has represented Oslo at the Storting for 15 years. He has been the leader of the Oslo Labor Party for 12 years until 2016.

– It cannot be the case that you limit yourself to traveling and listening. Because then that is how you will seduce people. You make people believe that what they mention is taken up in the party, in the Storting and in the town hall, says Johansen.

– Do you think that Bøhler has made people believe that he is an “ombudsman” for them?

– Yes, or he plays the role of ombudsman completely differently from me. I wish Jan would carry all the things that he captures among other people in the party, in the Storting and in the town hall. That’s what other Labor Party politicians do, he says.

After 18 years of bourgeois rule in Oslo, the Labor Party together with MDG and SV won the battle to lead the city council in 2015.

– I will pay tribute to Jan, I think he has done a good job in many areas, for example when it comes to social control, even in immigrant communities. It has been an important debate. He has spent a lot of time on police, crime and criminal gangs. At the same time, he is a member of the Committee on Justice for Work at the Storting. Then you’ve had a place in the orchestra and great opportunities to do something about the issues you’re talking about, says Johansen and continues:

– I am the head of the Oslo Police Council together with the Oslo police chief, I am used to being contacted by politicians of the central justice, but Jan has chosen never to do so. So how do you define the role of ombudsman? If you are not the one who actually fights for more police in East Oslo, for more prevention, for proposing ideas and suggestions on how to implement various of the measures that we have in the party program, says Johansen.

Not present

– Are you accusing Jan Bøhler of cheating?

I do not know if he has wandered in the Storting, but he has not been present in the Labor Party. At one point I wondered if I should send him a missed message, replies Raymond Johansen.

VG has hosted the full interview with Raymond Johansen for Jan Bøhler. He does not want to be interviewed by VG, but has written the following text in response to Johansen’s statements:

“It is true that my work at Groruddalstinget, night crows, sports, LIM (equality, integration, diversity) and other meetings and visits to people who have important experiences to tell about are increasingly prioritized. I get multiple inquiries to meet every day and try to find time to queue. It provides insights on topics and proposals that I can follow at the Storting in the next round, ‘and continues:

“As I have not held internal positions in the Oslo Labor Party since 2016, I have been able to increasingly prioritize this outward-oriented work. In general, I have been active every night throughout the week throughout the year, but more and more it has been about outreach activities, not internal party meetings. This is how I will work as an ombudsman and shop steward in the future as well. The parties do not exist by themselves, but to be a tool for the voters. The Center Party has said that it wants to support and promote, and that means a lot to me. I wish the best for everyone in the Labor Party and I hope that we can remain friends, now in each of our parties, “Bøhler writes.

Strong reactions

This summer, Jan Bøhler came out on Facebook and declared that he was withdrawing as a candidate for the Storting list, because he felt he did not have the support of the Oslo Labor Party leadership. At the same time, he hinted that “anonymous sources” could create difficulties for him.

This sparked strong reactions from Bøhler’s supporters in the Oslo Labor Party. A Facebook support group that demanded Bøhler’s name change quickly gained thousands of followers.

Bøhler has been ranked third on Oslo Ap’s Storting list since 2005 and is now 68 years old.

Excellent party candidate

Today, the Labor Party has five representatives from Oslo in the Storting. Some of his fans have been working lately for Bøhler to get fifth place, but Bøhler is reported to have said no. This was stated by Steinar Saghaug, one of his close supporters until resignation, on NRK’s ​​Dagsnytt 18 on Thursday.

– Personally I thought Jan could have been an absolutely excellent candidate on the Oslo Ap parliamentary election list, and the process is not over. It was he himself who decided to short-circuit, says Johansen.

Criticism of sp

In the parliamentary elections in autumn 2021, the Labor Party will go to the polls to replace the Erna Solberg government with a red-green coalition of the Labor Party, the Socialist People’s Party and the Socialist People’s Party, led by Jonas Gahr Støre.

Johansen is skeptical about how the Sp leader has worked behind the scenes to secure one of the Labor Party’s parliamentary representatives, a year before the elections.

– I’m a bit surprised by the role of Trygve Slagsvold Vedum. I have been the leader of a coalition for five years. A coalition is about give and take, it is about trust, it is about openness and mutual trust. As I understand it, Vedum has gone behind the back of the Labor Party and tried to recruit a sitting parliamentary representative by making an offer … I don’t think it builds confidence. So I’m in awe of that. Let me express myself that way.

The transition window

The former chairman of the board of Vålerenga Football also comments on the transition as follows:

– I’m more concerned with football than the average and, to use the terminology there: now we saw that the transfer window is open. Then there are opportunities for the highest bidder, and the question is who will be left bleeding for the suit and who will resort to the offer of the highest bidder. Here came an offer that you couldn’t refuse: First place!

– Jan searched a bit

The leader of SP Vedum has also come forward with this case, and responds to criticism as follows:

– The Labor Party no longer wanted to have Jan Bøhler on the team, as he saw it. It is your free choice to change parties. He is a free man. Raymond Johansen himself has gone from SV to Ap. It was his free choice, he adds.

– Have you gone behind the back of the Labor Party, Vedum?

– Over time I realized that Jan was looking a little. And we spent time in August and early September discussing the issues. It turned out that she agreed with us on many issues, such as Ullevål hospital. Also, I have a sense of the way he works, of being among the people.

– Does Johansen think that Bøhler has misunderstood this role of ombudsman?

– I understand that the role of the ombudsman is to listen to the people and then incorporate them into daily politics. No one has managed to raise the debate on gang crime as high as Jan Bøhler has. So it may be that the Labor Party has other internal routines, I don’t know much about that, says Vedum.