The spirit of the times that passes

May 9, 1986 The Gro Harlem Brundtland women’s government came out in Slottsplassen. The world was taken by storm. Brundtland himself has claimed that Foreign Minister Knut Frydelund said that “not much attention had been paid to Norway since 1940.”

With 40% representation of women, the government should accelerate gender equality efforts in Norway. This led to major policy changes such as maternity leave, paternity leave, paid sick leave for children, a sharp increase in kindergarten development, and the opening of in vitro fertilization. It left a lasting impression on society and all future governments. Since then, no one has formed a government with fewer than 40 percent female ministers.

Brundtland’s women’s government seized on the spirit of the age and changed a society that was too mature to make a leap in gender equality policy.

As you know, the fashion of the 80s has returned and it is time for it to be repeated, also in politics.

The next government you have the opportunity to seize the spirit of the age and shape society in the same way. The next government could be a historic climate and a government of restructuring.

You can copy Gro’s basic recipe. From day one, ministerial positions, the organization and the structure of the ministry can tell Norway (and the world) that this is the most important overriding goal of the government. A goal at the height of the challenges. Because there is no doubt that climate change will be the biggest task for Norwegian society in the coming decades. Starting in the fall, work should really pick up speed. Norway will cut more than half of its emissions by the end of the decade and will practically eliminate them completely by 2050. At the same time, we will create new industries as the oil and gas business stabilizes. The latter is as big, important and difficult a task as reducing emissions. Norway’s trade deficit with other countries, when we ignore oil and gas, only increases.

Norway can do this it will probably only be resolved if the government takes comprehensive and systematic action. Climate Minister Sveiung Rotevatn and Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru wrote an excellent piece together on the voluminous political history of wind power development recently. That is the point. The next government should have a minister of climate, nature and energy, to accelerate electrification, offshore wind and plans to use it in a new green industry, while maintaining biodiversity. Oil can be retired and underused under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. At the same time, this ministry should have a completely different role in restructuring work that should ensure value creation and employment in Norway within defined priority areas such as digitization, bioeconomy (on land and water), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Climate, Nature and Energy.

Such measures will be crucial. Climate change will require realpolitik solutions and a fast pace.

The “secret” back door on the right to the MDGs

Will this be found? resistance? With him, you will surely be welcomed with open arms, and will respond to absolutely urgent needs. Norway’s business community and financial industry are now in a green boom. The new establishments on the stock market of companies that are launching this wave are record. Investors spend money on projects. Restructuring is underway, politicians must catch up and make arrangements so that it can be carried out even faster, more efficiently and successfully for the benefit of companies and the country as such. The oil industry’s tight grip on Norwegian business policy is already fading and it will completely lose its grip during the next legislature.

Voters will also generally be very positive. The climate issue rose to first place as the most important issue during last year’s municipal election campaign, the research shows.

Its not for Nothing that both the Conservatives and the Labor Party have formulated increasingly detailed change and climate policies in recent years. It is absolutely central to the Labor Party’s proposal for a new party program, and conservative leader Erna Solberg used almost all of her speech at the national assembly earlier this fall in a detailed account of sharp ambitions.

So both a Conservative government and a Labor-led government may be the ones who seize the opportunity to become the landmark climate change government that emerges in Slottsplassen next fall.

The beginning of the reverse oil adventure

The only reason Why this should collapse is if the FRP continues to cultivate the climate opposition that they have tended to after the Erna Solberg government came out. The party has been involved in the journey in the Solberg government so far and, in theory, may also swallow more climate policies in the future. As they have been now, they run the risk of having the same consequences on climate policy as KrF in matters of value: as a brake on history.

The Center Party has also cultivated a similar position in recent years, but it is mainly about certain taxes that they have talked about a lot and aloud. If you read the new draft of the party’s program, you will see the willingness to innovate in oil policy and to actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even where it hurts the most, in agriculture. It is almost as if one believes that even Vedum can run such a government.

Not taking advantage of this greedily will be a wasted opportunity. An open goal boom. In return, the reward will be excellent. The government will include the name in gold letters in the history books.