Norwegian elections: We won! We bloody won!

[trigz]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/09/13/norway.election.reut/index.html

The centre-left have won last night's elections - my party, the Socialist Party will go into the new government.

I'm so happy I could dance all day!

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. me hoping we can celebrate here soon

and congratulations

[KT2000]

2. I'm happy for you!!

I hope we will get there too but in the meantime - shine as a beacon.

Celebrate! :bounce:

[Greeby]

3. Article says Norway are major oil exporters

Expect their collar to be felt by the BFEE in double-quick time :hide:

[tocqueville]

8. Norway/UK are the major providers of oil to Europe

the problem that it will peak soon

[trigz]

14. Not quite correct

We still have massive oil fields in the Barents sea that can be drilled. That's been one major topic in this election campaign, since the installations used for this purpose will cause a lot of pollution. We've decided to put it on hold until co2-cleansing mechanisms are in place.

[non sociopath skin]

4. Great news, trigz.

Watch out that no concessions are made to your dreadful right-wing party, though. Conservatives are like rats when they're cornered - they get nastier and more vicious.

Don't try to reason with them. Bring in pest control!

But first enjoy the party. You've earned it!

The Skin

[trigz]

11. The f*ckers have lost by their own merit

The conservatives and right-wingers have pushed the most dirty election campaign in Norwegian history, and have lost the power as a result of it. We on the left have by and large focused on our own issues and agenda, and won in the end, even though election night last night was unbelievably tense. We have 169 seats in Parliament, and for a very long time the situation was a 85-84 majority in our favour. In the end however the gap grew.

Goodbye to our spineless gobshite of an ex-Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik; now we're going to show Bush that Norwegians have balls!

[KitSileya]

18. Did you see on the news Tuesday,

that the former undersecretary of foreign affairs said that DnA, SV and SP had already agreed to withdraw all Norwegian soldiers from Iraq, to decline participation in US-led foreign missions, and instead join UN-led ones? Wheee!

I voted SV too!

[trigz]

20. Yeah I saw that

No surprise of course and, I imagine, a sweetener to make the governmental negotiations easier for the left wing of the SV.

I not just voted SV, I'm also a member of the party :)

[KitSileya]

21. What really made me angry with the Norwegian people

was that so many of them voted for Fremskrittspartiet. Since I came back from the US in 2000, and found they had 20% in the polls, I've been saying that most Norwegians just don't know how good and safe their lives are. They just cannot fathom that the things they complain about - the health services, the schools - are miles better than what most people in the world get - including the industrial world. They want more services, but less taxes and less fees. It just can't be done. I'm hoping the new government can redirect the money flow within the budget to avoid privatization (which always ends up costing more than doing it over the public budget) and manage to fund the things that are needed, rather than those that are for show.

I am worried tho', that yet again they'll court young families and forget the many single people living in this country. It's not easy to have to manage on one salary, especially if you have a lot of education (which sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but those of us who finished uni before the new student loan regulations and before they shortened the time to get degrees, are really hurting right now. And being single, we have to pay all expenses alone, as well as our student loans, and forget about buying our own apartments) not to mention the fact that we'll most likely have to work for 40 years to get full retirement, and when you only get a proper job when you're 30 - well, I wonder how the demographics will be in 15 years...

[trigz]

31. Yes, Frp is a national disgrace

...drumming up 22% support on an agenda mainly composed of cheapshot demands of lower fuel prices, cutting taxes and laws treating our immigrants like dogs is frightening.

Hopefully however this is as high as they'll get. I can't imagine a quarter of the electorate would ever support this cryptofascist, racist party. Had they governed the country the people that vote for them (working and lower middle class) would actually be a lot worse off. Not that that seems to matter, as long as they promise to remove the censorship on hard core pornography, get the petrol prices down to 6 kroner and revoke the Norwegian citizenships given to our immigrants. Jesus christ.

That said, I think Jens and the girls will have a hard time keeping people happy over the next four years. We're just becoming too spoiled in this country.

[Scurrilous]

5. Congrats...

"Jobs, schools and care for the elderly," the Labor leader said when asked on breakfast television what his government's priorities would be."

With priorities like that, it's only a matter of time until the Bush administration declares Norway a member of the 'axis of evil.'

[Selatius]

6. Solidarity from a fellow socialist!

I can't speak for the Democratic Party, but I can speak for myself when I say that I wish you the best of luck in pushing through reforms to make life just a bit easier to deal with. Though the brand of socialism I advocate is more akin to libertarian socialism, ultimately, we're both aiming for the same goals. I wish you the best.

[ladylibertee]

7. CONGRATULATIONS my friend.

[xchrom]

9. sooo cool! congratulations!

two questions -- haven't the norwegian liberals put really good effort into making sure government really worked?

second -- isn't this the second time you guys have won?
i don't mean ever -- just in the very recent election cycles.

[trigz]

13. It's the first time that...

...the Labour party are going into a coalition government. The Socialist Party (my party) have never been in power before, and the Green party used to be in a centrist government some years ago.

'Liberals'...well we use a different terminology in Norwegian politics. The only 'liberal' party by our definition used to be in the Government, and fared quite well in these elections, scoring 6 per cent of the vote. The main enemy are the Conservatives and the extreme right-wing Progress Party (the closest to the Republican party in Norway). To my disgust, the latter scored a massive 22 per cent on an anti-immigrant, anti-taxes agenda.

[xchrom]

17. ah -- now i have it straight -- thank you.

isn't amazing, the world over, how much head way you can make with taxes and immigrants?

[OneTwentyoNine]

10. I'm guessing Diebold hasn't made it to that part of the World yet?? n/t

[KitSileya]

19. The funny thing is, this was the first Norwegian election observed

by foreign election observers. They were from former Soviet republics. They said that they were shocked people could vote without showing ids, but that they didn't think it was possible to cheat, simply because the trust between the people, the government, and the election process was so high. With a participation of about 77% (the lowest in Scandinavia) people are familiar with the elctions process, which is still done on paper.

[FreedomAngel82]

12. Congrats!

:thumbsup: Hope you have a party!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. congtats....i envy you

[Joe Chi Minh]

26. Same here!

[MN ChimpH8R]

16. Skol!

Congrats to the sensible people of Norway!

[faithnotgreed]

22. any chance you want to dance at our wedding or can you at least

invade this country now and instill some sanity


congratulations to all people of norway

[chaska]

23. Got any spare bedrooms?

Congrats.

[chaska]

24. Hey Trigz, do you know who Terge Rypdal is?

I do. Been a fan for decades. I'm just wondering how well known he is in Norway.

[trigz]

28. That's Terje Rypdal, yes?

Yep, of course I know him, a very well-known artist here. Not quite up my alley, but a big name.

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Excellent!

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[KingFlorez]

27. Go Norway!

Good for you

[Stockholm]

29. Welcome back Norway...

I guess Rummie won´t be calling on you guys again anytime soon.

It is freaking fantastic!

[Skittles]

30. I AM HAPPY FOR YOU TRIGZ

Yes INDEED! Norway ROCKS! :hi: