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– These are very bad numbers for us. We don’t think it’s particularly fun to comment on such low numbers.
That’s what Ingvild Kjerkol, leader of the Trøndelag Labor Party, says.
A recent Norstat poll conducted for NRK Trøndelag and Adresseavisen shows that the Labor Party is doing very poorly across Trøndelag. The party has been in the storm lately with the noise around Trond Giske and a turbulent annual county meeting.
Polls show support in September 2020 compared to 2017 parliamentary elections.
– It’s not fun
Although Trøndelag is a county, the county is still divided into two electoral districts for parliamentary elections.
The Labor Party has long been the largest party in Sør-Trøndelag, but according to the opinion poll it is now below 20 percent and smaller than the Conservatives.
This is historical.
The Labor Party has never before been below 20 percent in a poll in the southern part of the county.
The Conservatives, for their part, gain support in Sør-Trøndelag of 20.3 percent.
The decline of the Labor Party is also great in Nord-Trøndelag. Here, 21.1 percent say they will vote for Labor, a decrease of 13.1 percentage points from the 2017 parliamentary elections.
Had there been elections this fall, the Storting group of the Trøndelag Labor Party would have been cut in half, from six to three representatives.
For the newly elected leader, it will now be important to regain the trust of the voters.
– When you lose confidence, it is serious. The phrase that trust is built in millimeters but is torn in meters is a phrase because it is true. We have to take seriously the signals that the voters give us.
– What do you think is the reason?
– I think it is a combination of unrest and that the voters do not recognize the Labor Party.
– Can the riots around the annual meeting and the appointment of Trond Giske be part of the explanation?
– Now Trond Giske is out of Norwegian politics. It is true that he will sit in the Storting for another year, but it is clear that when such a prominent politician with many political results behind him disappears, it has some ripple effects. I think we see some of them now, Kjerkol says.
Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre does not want to comment on the poll and refers to the leadership of Trøndelag Ap.
Unrest and personal conflict
NRK Trøndelag political commentator Linda Bjørgan believes the Labor Party is the only culprit
– There have been personal unrest and conflict in the party at the local level since the nomination began in the Trondheim Labor Party in 2018, says Bjørgan.
– In the local elections last year, we saw the same trend, especially in Trondheim. Then came the uproar around Trond Giske that ended in a chaotic county annual meeting a few weeks ago. Now they get the response from the voters.
LOYAL VOTERS: Only the Liberal Party has fewer loyal voters than the Labor Party. This will be the Labor Party’s biggest challenge in Trøndelag next year, says Bjørgan.
Photo: Stein Roar Leite
Sp goes further forward
The Center Party is the clear winner in both districts and has the most progress.
In Nord-Trøndelag, they consolidate their position as by far the largest party with 34.2 percent support, according to the September poll.
They take a strong jump in Sør-Trøndelag and reach a support of 15.5 percent. That’s 4.8 percentage points more than the 2017 parliamentary elections.
– Now we are breathing the Labor Party and the Conservative Party in the back also in the south, it is very motivating.
This is what Tomas Iver Hallem, county mayor of the Center Party in Trøndelag says.
– This gives us energy to keep going. At the same time, we must be humbled by the responsibility that now weighs more heavily on our shoulders. We have to show that we see both those who live in the city and those who live in the village, so that we can establish ourselves among the three largest also in Sør-Trøndelag.
– The party has always been strong in Trøndelag, especially in the northern part, says Linda Bjørgan.
He goes on to say that the Center Party has advanced in many polls, both nationally and locally, recently.
– In our poll, they also have the highest proportion of loyal voters. Up to 84 percent of those who voted for the SP in previous elections say they will do so again, says Bjørgan.
REASON: Tomas Iver Hallem of the Center Party thinks the poll is very motivating and points in particular to the progress the party is making in Sør-Trøndelag.
Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / NRK
Many are sitting on the fence
The poll also shows that one in three Labor voters in the 2017 parliamentary election is unsure why they will vote in next year’s election.
– Only the Liberal Party has fewer loyal voters than the Labor Party. This will be the Labor Party’s biggest challenge in Trøndelag next year, says Bjørgan.
