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– I am very honored that Siv designates me as his heir, says Listhaug at the press conference.
He says that Siv Jensen has given him many chances in the match and that he was surprised and saddened when Jensen told him he did not want re-election at the Storting.
– I know it is difficult to be a leader in Frp, which requires an incredible amount. Now we are faced with a big and important job. But in consultation with my husband, I have decided to agree to become the leader of the Progress Party, Listhaug says.
It was on Thursday that the FRP leader for the past 15 years announced that she was resigning in an urgent press conference.
Siv Jensen then appointed Sylvi Listhaug as his successor and Ketil Solvik-Olsen as vice president.
Sylvi Listhuag thanks outgoing leader Siv Jensen for naming her as the new leader of the party.
– If the party wants me as its leader, I promise to defend everything I can in the September elections and towards 2025.
– I will not be Carl, nor Siv, but I must do it my way, if the party wants, says Listhaug.
– Now we will write a new chapter in our history
Ketil Solvik-Olsen also thanks Siv Jensen “for everything he has done for the country and for the game.”
– I hope the party loves me, at least I look forward to the journey that lies ahead, says Solvik-Olsen.
He says he was told a few days ago that Jensen was leaving the leadership position. Listhaug says he has known about Jensen’s departure for a few days longer than Solvik-Olsen.
– Now we will bet the course more. I hope I can join him. We have experienced a lot on the journey. There are many things we can be proud of and we have stumbled a few times, says Solvik-Olsen.
He says that Frp will begin writing a new chapter in his story and that he hopes to participate in the writing of that chapter.
– May this be the beginning of our return, where again we surprise everyone because we show that Frp is renewed, widely embraced and gains power, once again. We will show people what lives in us, says Solvik-Olsen, and says that Frp solves problems wherever they go.
Solvik-Olsen also wants to accept the position of Vice President:
– I am grateful that Siv has shown me his trust and mentioned me as a possible MP. If the party wants me to do so, I will answer yes.
Ketil Solvik-Olsen thanked the outgoing Frp leader on Friday.
Solvik-Olsen recognizes the difference between him and Listhaug
He says he is at a point in his life where he cannot prioritize joining the Storting for a four-year period, but he does not rule out Stortingsplass in the future.
Solvik-Olsen also acknowledges that he and Listhaug are different:
– I believe that together we can do a lot of good. We’re different enough to bring out breadth in perspective, but it’s good at politics. But we are also similar enough to go together in the future, says Solvik Olsen.
He also says that he will never challenge a good leader, men point out that he may be motivated to take over at a later opportunity.
– Now the group must find the way forward without Siv at the helm. Looking ahead, we are going to renew the Progress Party. The goal is to implement as much FRP policy as possible, Listhaug says.
Listhaug talks about retirees, immigration and health policy. She says that it is Norway, not the UN or the EU, who will decide how many refugees will arrive in Norway.
– We will continue to focus on oil, which has provided and will continue to provide revenue to Norway for many years, says Listhaug.
Listhaug says Norway can afford to build roads, railways, schools and old people’s homes:
– We must stop saving for those found, says Listhaug.
– There is room for everyone in Frp
Sylvi Listhaug has previously taken a hard line against those who call themselves national conservatives in Frp, most recently in connection with the removal of former Oslo Frp leader Geir Ugland-Jacobsen.
When asked if there is room for national conservatives in the party, he responds to the press conference as follows:
– I’m serious. There is room for everyone behind the FRP policy. I have apologized and do apologize, and gladly do so again, to all who read this in such a context that I beat them to death with Nazism. It was not in my thoughts at all when this interview was conducted, Listhaug says.
– Will Ugland-Jacobsen be welcomed back to Frp?
– It is excluded by Frp. Those who are excluded, we do it for a reason.
– Wasn’t that exactly why you were a national conservative?
– That wasn’t the reason. It was organizational matters, Listhaug responds.
– People are behind our politics
Since the freeze, Ugland-Jakobsen has become the county leader in the Democrats. For NRK, he says that it is irrelevant to request a return to Frp. He was not surprised by Jensen’s departure:
– I hope that the FRP manages to regain some confidence before the elections. Democrats don’t want a weakened Frp. Although our two parties appear to be more different than ever, there is still relatively much to agree on, says Ugland-Jacobsen.
Solvik-Olsen has been among the FRP leaders who have temporarily led Oslo Frp on an interim board in recent months, following the ouster of Ugland-Jacobsen.
– I think the discussion about wings in the match is exaggerated. And I say this with the experience of Oslo. After being on the Oslo Frp interim board in recent months, I feel like the people are behind our policy, we are united in it, says Solvik-Olsen.
Ketil Solvik-Olsen and Sylvi Listhaug at the press conference.
Photo: Camilla Helen Heiervang / NRK
At yesterday’s press conference, Jensen said that he singled out Listhaug as the leader, and not Solvik-Olsen, because Listhaug will sit in the Storting.
– There are two prominent politicians who dare to think new things, be clear, take the debates and challenge the established truths, Jensen said of his designated heirs.
Siv Jensen has been a parliamentary representative since 1997. He replaced Carl I. Hagen as leader of the Progress Party in 2006.
