MDG maximum critical of the fact that the MDGs withdrew from Viken County Council in protest against the development of E18

– We must decide whether we want to be a protest party or a serious ruling party, says Lørenskog Deputy Mayor Ernst-Modest Herdieckerhoff (ODM). He fears that the march will scare members, nationwide.

Three weeks ago, ODM marched out of the Viken County Council after the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party decided to give a toll guarantee to expand the E18 west of Oslo.

Thus, the MDGs, together with SV, broke the red-green cooperation and canceled the platform that the four parties agreed to last fall.

– I understand that the MDGs in Viken are disappointed. I am also upset and disappointed that a highway is being built to increase capacity. But now we have given up all power and influence over all other matters in Viken, perhaps for the entire period. Was it really worth it? No, I mean, says Herdieckerhoff.

He says that the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party in Viken, which remains in the county council, can now form a shifting majority, also with the Green Party and the toll party.

– We have given influence to parties that absolutely should not have it. There will probably be more road projects. And then we quickly end up with solutions that don’t benefit the green change. So we have failed the environment.

Herdieckerhoff is deputy mayor for the sixth year. He is a trained theologian and has been pastor at Skårer Parish for 18 years.

He is a heavyweight on the MDGs with only one mayor and eight deputy mayors, and one parliamentary representative.

– If we want to become a green and broad popular party, then we cannot operate as if we were a protest party.

He says many of the MDGs come from protest parties and conservation organizations, and not all are used to making concessions.

– It continues to affect us as a party. I think the time has come for us to have a debate on this issue. Do we want to appear trustworthy, which sometimes involves swallowing a camel? Or should we be content to protest and be clean and upright, but without having any real political influence?

Fear of cold shoulder from elsewhere

He is also concerned about the signals that the infringement sends elsewhere, in the Storting.

– Other parties dare to cooperate with us after this?

– I believe that when the voters give us power and influence, we cannot flee from responsibility in the first defeat. It can scare both parties and voters.

The MDGs have remained stable above the cutoff limit of the average of the measurements over the past year.

The party targets 9-12 MPs, if the trend continues.

– Oslo shows the way

The collaboration of the city council in Oslo between ODM, Ap and SV stands out.

– The MDGs in Oslo have shown the way. There have been steep fronts, but the city council has emerged as a single team. The MDGs have faced a lot of opposition and have probably also lost several cases to the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party. But they have marked a disagreement internally and continued. And then he made major breakthroughs on other issues.

He is convinced that the ODM Responsibility Line in Oslo is one of the most important reasons why ODM doubled its support in 2019.

– Voters liked what they saw.

In 2019, the MDGs received 15.3 percent of the vote in Oslo, compared with 8.2 in 2015.

Defend the gap

Former Viken public transport advisor Kristoffer Robin Haug (ODM) defends the march:

– The great development of the highway breaks all the climate ambitions on the platform and consumes billions that should be spent on public transport. Voters now have tangible proof that they can trust us, that we deliver on what we promised.

And Haug believes that the gap, on the contrary, gives predictability for potential partners.

– As a responsible and reliable party, we adhere to the agreements that we have entered into and assume the consequences if they are broken.

He believes that the “formula for success in Oslo” is for the rest of the city council to adhere to the nature and climate policy they have agreed on.

Ecological success in Germany

Herdieckerhoff was born and raised in Germany. He believes that the success of the Greens (Die Grünen) in Germany, established in 1980 and a source of inspiration for the MDGs when the party was formed in 1988, shows that binding cooperation pays off.

The Greens have been in the Bundestag since 1983, and were in government with the Social Democratic SPD from 1998 to 2005. The party is today in position in 12 of the 17 German state governments. In populous Baden-Württemberg, the Greens received 30 percent in the last elections and rule alongside the Christian Democratic CDU, which is the “little brother” of cooperation.

– The Greens have gone through a much-needed development from a protest movement to a responsible party that is perceived as relevant and capable of governing.

Herdieckerhoff says that the transformation from a protest party dominated by radical eco-socialists and opposition to nuclear energy, to a party that enters into binding cooperation, has been painful, but absolutely crucial.

– And today, this responsibility is rewarded by the voters.

Herdieckerhoff: choice of route first after the chose

At the national meeting in May 2021, the MDGs will decide Yes the party must name cooperation parties prior to the election, and possibly In what direction a collaboration will go away.

Herdieckerhoff is ready:

– We should definitely not choose sides for the chose. On the one hand, we cannot say that the block policy is an outdated system and at the same time join one of the blocks. When the election result is ready, we can choose the side that has the greatest impact on the environment and the climate.

In Germany, the Greens define themselves as a liberal center party and cooperate in both directions.

In Sweden and Finland, the sister parties of the MDGs are in government with social democratic parties.

Herdieckerhoff is open to the MDGs – after the elections – being able to cooperate with both the Labor Party and the Conservative Party, but he thinks the “green and gray” distinction makes more sense than the “red and blue” distinction.

ODM leader Une Bastholm refers to Viken MDG for comment.