KrF profile ready for the Sentrum party

Dagrun Eriksen (49) was deputy director of KrF for 13 years, until 2017. Now she joins the service of the new Sentrum party.

– When I heard Geir (Lippestad) present the new party at NRK Debatten, it really blew me away, says Dagrun Eriksen to Aftenposten.

We met her and attorney Geir Lippestad at the Lippestad law firm premises in central Oslo.

It has been exactly five weeks since the news of the formation of the new Sentrum party was known.

– I regained my zeal for politics when Geir spoke about decency in politics. On helping the children of Moria. On being uncompromising in doing something about the outside world. I felt like I had a sick desire to join such a popular movement, says Dagrun Eriksen.

In this interview, he explains why he would no longer be a member of the party that he has served for so many years.

2,000 signatures missing

Since Geir Lippestad on September 29 shocked political Norway with the news of the attempt to establish a new political party, it has been relatively quiet.

Lippestad says the party, which is just an association at the moment, is in full swing to secure the 5,000 signatures the party must have before the new year to be approved as a party.

– Are you fighting?

– We reached about 3,000 in five weeks. Now we have six weeks to reach 5000. We will manage it, says Lippestad.

He says he and the board at Sentrum are in the process of building an organization in all counties and placing people on various committees to develop policy.

– It’s a bit crazy, but right now the focus is on collecting enough signatures, says Lippestad. He was previously a Councilor for the City of Work in Oslo. He is best known for defending the July 22 terrorist.

The party has gained 500 paying members, Lippestad claims. It highlights that the firms no it has something to do with membership.

– Those who sign only give support so that the Center can be established. There is no obligation to vote for Sentrum or become a member.

Lippestad does not deny that the pandemic makes it even more difficult to collect signatures.

– We can’t do this digitally. If we had, we would have been at the finish line a long time ago. All signatures must be on paper and sent by mail. We are not allowed to have meetings. We are not allowed to meet people. And now it also becomes demanding to stand up. But this must go away.

– Can hit KrF hard

Many KrF members have felt homeless after an extraordinary national KrF meeting in 2018 said no to then party leader Knut Arild Hareide’s wish to cooperate with the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party.

Several commentators have noted that Sentrum appears designed to capture red KRFs.

Election researcher Bernt Aardal tells Aftenposten that the new party may especially affect KrF.

In 2018, a narrow majority in KrF chose cooperation with the right. In 2019, KrF joined the Solberg government. Kjell Ingolf Ropstad replaced Hareide as leader.

So far, the Lippestad project has compiled some “semi-known” red KrFs and some local MDG profiles.

Now they can boast of a big fish.

Dagrun Eriksen has been deputy leader of KrF for 13 years, until 2017. He has twice led the program process at KrF, most recently the time he led up to the program where KrF now engages in politics.

Eriksen says she is grateful for “20 beautiful years at KrF.” She has been “grieving for love” but says the grieving process has been going on for some time.

– I felt homeless after choosing the road in 2018, says Eriksen.

– But it was important to give him time. I wanted to give KrF’s new project a try. As a former MP, it’s not just about opting out.

– KrF must resolve its own support

She says that she and KrF have gradually grown apart. A month ago, he resigned from the party.

– Many may think that he is now involved in putting the nail in the coffin of the Ropstad KrF project a year before an extremely important election. KrF is safe below the barrier limit in measurements. what do you think about it?

– You know what? KrF’s decline in polls began long before I was known to report a transition. KrF must resolve its own support. It probably also shows that the choice of direction was not so smart. I think that KrF has made too many compromises that have taken the party out of the social position it had.

– What are you thinking specifically about?

– It has been incredibly frustrating to see that Norway has not aligned itself in favor of the children of Moria in Greece. After the fire in the camp this fall, we should have let go of everything we had in our hands and welcomed “our children” from the refugee camp. I am incredibly disappointed that KrF and the government have not aligned. This is not a Norway that I like. Think, we haven’t had any children from Moria yet, says Eriksen.

She says she wants to be part of a party that makes such a case the most important topic. And who not only spoke of exclusion, but who will prioritize that issue above all else.

– Strange that someone honestly, and at the cost of many other things, is uncompromising when it comes to helping vulnerable children. I find this in the center of town.

– Can anyone think that you as a former deputy could not have done this?

– Those who know me know that I have always defended what I want to say. Whatever it takes. I really don’t think many at KrF are surprised. At the same time, there are probably also some who are relieved that I am leaving the party.

What ambitions do you have? Will it be Lippestad as leader and you as deputy director?

– Haha. No, nobody here orders and distributes places and positions. I make myself available. So I think it’s fun with challenges. But there is a long way to go before we get there. Now it is exciting to participate and develop policies for the future.