Missed by Solberg – praised by Støre – VG

It was Thursday night that it became clear that Siv Jensen will step down as FRP leader.

– It’s about me. I need to do something else. I need to have more time to myself, I don’t always have to put other considerations first. I need to use my work capacity and my commitment, but in something different than what I have done for the last 24 years, says Jensen.

Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre praises Siv Jensen after she announced her resignation as FRP leader.

– Although the Progress Party has always been a political opponent of the Labor Party, it is easy to recognize Siv Jensen’s many years of efforts in Norwegian politics, says Støre.

Close cooperation

He adds:

– She is a tough polemicist, with a great commitment to what she believes in. Personally, I have also experienced that Siv Jensen is an orderly political opponent with whom it has been possible to cooperate and trust in cases where we have had a common opinion. I wish you the best of luck.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) praises outgoing FRP leader Siv Jensen in a Facebook message and says she will miss her in Norwegian politics.

– Siv is the politician of other parties with whom I have worked most closely in the last decade, writes Solberg.

The prime minister says that Jensen is a tough, creative and knowledgeable negotiator, and a politician he can trust. It also points out the role of the FRP leader at the base of the bourgeois government.

– Siv has been one of the most important politicians in Norway in recent decades. Through courageous decisions and strong implementation capacity, he has shaped the political landscape. I look back on our collaboration with joy and hope to have a good contact with Siv in the future as well, no matter what she chooses to do now, Solberg concludes.

SV leader Audun Lysbakken emphasizes good tone and mutual respect.

– When I was a child for the first time on the finance committee, Siv Jensen was chairman of the committee. He was generously and pleasantly received. Despite the endless and bitter disagreements, we have maintained a good tone and mutual respect. And well, we got the collaboration of a fair pension in the butt, he writes on Twitter.

The shock message

Morten Wold, a representative of the Frp Storting, was sitting in the car on his way home from presiding at the Storting when he received shocking news of Siv Jensen’s resignation.

– This was a big surprise. I listen to what you say about the reason for leaving. It is clear that she, as the leader of the party, has come under terrible pressure. At the same time, it has led the Progress Party to the party’s best electoral results. She wants to go down in history as one of Norway’s greatest politicians, says Wold, who has had Siv as her boss for 13 years.

– What do you think of her announcing her departure while Frp is struggling a lot with low polls?

– We need wind in the sails. A change can contribute to that, responds Wold, who does not think it is unnatural for Siv Jensen to point to deputy leader Sylvi Listhaug as his heir to the leader’s jersey in the party.

The Storting representative, Åshild Bruun-Gundersen, is characterized by the message that Siv Jensen has given when VG calls her.

– This is infinitely sad, a very heavy message to receive. Siv has been my great role model throughout my political life. That’s all I want to say now, Bruun-Gundersen tells VG.

– Expert leader

Parliamentary representative and former Justice Minister Per-Willy Amundsen (Frp), like several members of the FRP, is deeply affected by the sentiments after Siv Jensen’s surprise message. Send a text message instead of being interviewed.

– Siv has been my leader since 2006. A skilled leader whom I only have respect and trust. He wants a place in the history books. I’m really sad today, writes Amundsen.

Former FRP Minister and current Parliamentary Representative Solveig Horne was also brought to bed by the surprising departure of Siv Jensen.

– I was very surprised and very sad. At the same time, I understand your decision very well. We have worked together for 26 years, I have been a minister with her, and I have a lot to thank Siv, Horne tells VG. He doesn’t think that everyone realizes how difficult it is to be a party leader and, in Jensen’s case, finance minister for years. – He’s been to a huge number of games. That he’s endured so long, there’s real respect for that, says Solveig Horne.

– What do you think of her pointing to Sylvi Listhaug as heir at the same time she announced her departure?

– It is not surprising. When Ketil Solvik-Olsen declined a Storting nomination, the race ended, Horne responds

Bård Hoksrud has also worked with Siv Jensen for several years. She picked him up as minister and secretary of state during the reign of the FRP.

– This is very sad. I have worked closely with her for many years. Today there are many in the party who are sad. We love her very much as a person and party leader. At the same time, I respect that she now wants to spend more time with her family and herself, says Hoksrud.

Kari Kjønaas Kjos, from the FrP parliamentary group, believes that Siv jensen chose the right moment to announce the departure.

– First I was surprised, then I was saddened. But I’ve been wondering for quite some time how he manages to handle such a demanding job, year after year. You have no problem understanding that you think enough is enough. If she had said yes to a new term, she would have been bound to serve it for the next four years. It is natural to point out those that I would recommend. If it hadn’t, journalists would have had to worry about it until the national meeting, Kjos writes in a text message.