Members obsessed with immigration were given free rein to occupy important positions

GUEST COMMENT: Frp started the year as an influential government party with many cabinet seats, but ends with no local teams in Oslo and Bergen, an excluded county leader, a cursed former president, and a dramatic departure for the leader of the match in spe, Ketil Solvik-Olsen. Now what?

Initially, I owe it to myself to point out that I have been active in the FRP in the period 1997-2011, including as chairman of the youth party, candidate for mayor in Stavanger and a member of the central board for a long time. It has been almost ten years since I left the party and since then I have voted for both the FRP and other parties. Today, I consider myself completely independent politically and I consider from election to election why I am voting.

Anti-immigrant dancers at the tables

In his seven years as finance minister and deputy head of government, Siv Jensen has had to demote his position as party leader. The FRP is a party with many individualists and is divided between those who want the greatest possible support (Carl I. Hagen’s FRP) and those who want the greatest possible impact (Siv Jensen’s FRP). It is a demanding party to organize and lead, and it has always relied on a strong central leadership to keep up. The combination of powerful General Secretary Geir A. Mo resigned in 2012 and Siv Jensen became Finance Minister in 2013 considerably weakened the central link with the FRP. The government FRP lived its life, the Storting FRP had to live its life, and local teams quickly lost ownership of the government project.

In December 2015, Sylvi Listhaug became Minister of Immigration and Integration in the H / Frp government and handled the refugee crisis with a firm and sure hand with the support of an almost unanimous Storting. Listhaug was perceived as strict and clear at a time when a queue of refugees was accumulating on the border between Russia and Norway.

When the FRP really took over refugee policy, it gained a number of new members, as well as activated some of the old members who had long had immigration as their main cause. Those who had yawned through victories in the transport sector, tax cuts, and many FRP breakthroughs in Norwegian politics now have a new glow to get involved in the party. They attended annual local team meetings, annual county meetings, were appointed study leaders, treasurers, and board members, and participated in courses.

Member meetings

For a period of time, it was the case that no matter what the theme of an evening of membership in a local FRP team was, it was immigration that attracted those present. Some of the moderate parliamentary representatives of the FRP were afraid to go to certain membership meetings because they were often dominated by members who were highly critical of immigration. When moderates don’t show up, it’s immigration refunds that take their place.

Oslo Frp, in particular, got its share of this band. These are people who are involved in the state-supported anti-Islamic organization Human Rights Service (HRS) for the Resett website and who get their arguments from Document.no. Christian Tybring-Gjedde, who was perceived as “his” parliamentary representative, as Siv Jensen was more of a national politician than from Oslo, has taken every opportunity to move into this cauldron of witches.

While FRP representatives who are concerned about things other than immigration were concerned with running the country in government and the Storting, and making good decisions (like Rogaland FRP), immigration-obsessed national conservative members had Free rein to carry out important organizational organizations. charges, including Geir Ugland Jacobsen, who was recently barred while he was leader of Oslo Frp.
Siv Jensen rewards disobedience

Awards for disloyalty

Whenever there have been internal disagreements within the FRP parliamentary group in the last two terms, the leadership has tried to calm the mood and end the disagreement by insisting that only the leadership should speak. The moderates, such as Roy Steffensen, Erlend Wiborg and Sivert Bjørnstad, were loyal to this. Tybring-Gjedde and Per Willy Amundsen didn’t care much and said exactly what they wanted, when they wanted. The consequence? Tybring-Gjedde got a seat on the central board and Amundsen has a seat on the powerful Storting group board.

FRP lacked leadership when the party was in government. The consequences were that elements hostile to immigration were unleashed and expected to gain power. Ugland Jacobsen was one of them, and he was also a bully who never accepted that a decision had been made. Repeated revenge attempts and lost case complaints became his way. Now Jensen is back as the leader of the party in full, the cleanup is underway, but it may be too late.

Solvik-Olsen

Here at the local level, he sent shockwaves into the political environment when Ketil Solvik-Olsen, dramatically, days before the nomination meeting, announced that he is not yet a candidate for first place on the Rogaland Frp parliamentary list. For many, it has been a kind of hope that he will come to the Storting and position himself as one of the two possible successors on the day that Siv Jensen thanks him. Now only Listhaug is relevant in the next four-year period.

If the FRP makes a poor parliamentary election next fall, there is a chance that Jensen will step down as leader. So Listhaug is the leader of Frp and many of the moderates who do not want to be associated with “their” Frp will withdraw. Some quiet and quiet, others noisy.

An FRP led by Sylvi Listhaug and an FRP led by Ketil Solvik-Olsen are two different parts. So far, it seems like there is the greatest possibility for the former, and you get a party that can be great where people don’t live. It doesn’t help with 35 percent support in Os if you have 7 percent support in Oslo.